Vehicular exterior mirror system with blind spot indicator

ABSTRACT

An exterior rearview mirror system for a vehicle includes an exterior mirror assembly having a skull-cap mirror shell that includes an inboard wall that faces generally toward an exterior driver-side of the equipped vehicle and that is viewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle. A blind spot indicator is disposed at an aperture established at the inboard wall of the skull-cap mirror shell and provides a viewing area of at least two square centimeters. An illumination source of the blind spot indicator is activated responsive to detection by a blind spot detection system of the equipped vehicle of presence of a rearward approaching or overtaking equipped vehicle. Illumination of the blind spot indicator by activation of the illumination source is readily viewable by the driver of the equipped vehicle and is generally not viewable by a driver of a vehicle forward of the equipped vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/083,895, filed Ma. 29, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,589,686,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/714,762,filed May 18, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,302,624, which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/919,489, filed Jun. 17, 2013, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,035,754, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/572,045, filed Aug. 10, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No.8,466,779, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/290,644, filed Nov. 7, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,242,896, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/446,507, filed Apr.21, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,058,977, which is a 371 national phaseapplication of PCT Application No. PCT/US07/82099, filed Oct. 22, 2007,which claims benefit of U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. Ser. No.60/970,687, filed Sep. 7, 2007, Ser. No. 60/918,089, filed Mar. 15,2007, and 60/853,850, filed Oct. 24, 2006, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. And U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/919,489 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/452,121, filed Apr. 20, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No.8,466,780, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/017,346, filed Jan. 31, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,164,482, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/794,111, filed Jun.4, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,880,596, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/370,050, filed Feb. 12, 2009, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,760,111, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/994,471, filed Jan. 2, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,492,281,which is a 371 national phase application of PCT Application No.PCT/US2006/026148, filed Jul. 5, 2006, which claims benefit of U.S.provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/696,953, filed Jul. 6, 2005, andSer. No. 60/784,570, filed Mar. 22, 2006. And U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/714,762 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/486,133, filed Sep. 15, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.9,045,091, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/646,960, filed Oct. 8, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,833,987, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/335,135, filed Dec.22, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,282,253, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/550,054, filed Aug. 28, 2009, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,083,386, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859,which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No.60/717,093, filed Sep. 14, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to exterior rearview mirror assembliesand, more particularly, to an exterior rearview mirror assembly having ablind spot/object detection indicator and/or a lane change aid (LCA)indicator and/or a turn signal or other indicator at the exteriorrearview mirror assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known to provide an object in a blind spot detection/LCA systemfor a vehicle that detects the presence of another vehicle or object inthe lane next to the host vehicle, where it may be difficult for thedriver of the host vehicle to determine whether or not there is anothervehicle or object adjacent to the host vehicle. Such an object in ablind spot detection/LCA system often includes a visual indicator thatvisually indicates the detection of another vehicle or object to thedriver of the host vehicle. It is also know to provide a turn signalindicator that is activated when a turn signal is activated by thedriver of the host vehicle so as to provide an indication of the vehicleturning or changing lanes to the driver of a vehicle in an adjacent laneto the host or subject vehicle or to another person external to the hostor subject vehicle. The visual indicator or indicators (commonly a lightemitting diode or the like) of such systems is/are often located at themirror reflective element of the exterior rearview mirror assembly.

The object/LCA visual indicator or indicators indicate or alert thedriver of the host vehicle of the presence or impending presence ofanother vehicle or object in a blind spot in an adjacent side lane thattypically cannot be readily seen within the field of view of theexterior mirror reflective element of the exterior mirror assemblymounted at that side of the vehicle and/or cannot be readily seen by thedriver's peripheral vision or the like. The object/LCA visual indicatorstypically are arranged to be viewable principally or solely by thedriver of the host vehicle and not by drivers of other vehicles.Similarly, the turn signal visual indicator or indicators indicate oralert a person external of the host vehicle (such as the driver ofanother vehicle alongside or approaching the host vehicle) that the turnsignal of the host vehicle is activated to indicate that the driver ofthe host vehicle is contemplating or commencing a turn or lane change orthe like. It is desirable that such turn signal visual indicators arenot readily viewable by the driver of the host vehicle when they areactivated. Because of vehicle regulations and mirror and vehicleconfigurations and geometries, and because of the need to provide anuninterrupted reflective surface to satisfy the likes of the FMVSS 111field of view regulation, blind spot/LCA indicators in the prior art aretypically located towards or at the outboard edge, and typically towardsor at the upper corner/quadrant, of the reflective mirror element of theexterior mirror assembly.

Somewhat costly and complicated indicator constructions have beencontemplated that, when placed behind and supported by the mirrorreflective element, attempt to have their projected beam of emittedlight directed principally to be viewed by the driver of the hostvehicle (or other persons external to the host vehicle for turn signalapplications) through the mirror reflective element and shielded fromview by other drivers in blind spot alert detection systems (or from thedriver of the host vehicle for turn signal applications). In someapplications, the mirror reflective element may have a transflectivereflector coating or may have a window or port formed in anon-transflective reflector coating. For example, transflective mirrorcoatings (such as, for example, those described in U.S. Pat. Nos.3,280,701; 6,855,431; 5,724,187; 5,340,503; 6,286,965; 6,196,688;6,045,023; 5,788,357; 5,535,056; 5,751,489 and 6,065,840, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties) may beused, or alternately, a transmissive window or port may be formed in thereflective coating or coatings of the mirror reflective element (suchas, for example, those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,005,724; 6,257,746;6,111,683, 5,786,772, 5,313,335 and 5,285,060, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties). An illuminationsource or indicator may be positioned so as to direct or emitillumination through the window or display area and toward the driver ofthe host vehicle so as to be viewable by the driver of the host vehicle(or outwardly away from the vehicle so as to be generally not viewableby the driver of the host vehicle for turn signal applications).

Such a mirror assembly and indicator often include a baffle or otherlight directing element and an illumination source positioned at therear of the mirror reflective element (and generally at the transmissivewindow or port if applicable). The baffle shields from view by anobserver or the light directing element directs the light orillumination from the illumination source toward the desired orappropriate viewer (such as the driver of the host vehicle for blindspot/LCA applications or the driver of another vehicle for turn signalapplications) and away from others (such as away from other drivers forblind spot/LCA applications or away from the driver of the host vehiclefor turn signal applications).

Typically, such baffles or other light directing elements are adhered tothe rear surface of the mirror reflective element. In some applications,the illumination source may be provided as a module to the mirrorassembly facility and adhered to the rear of the mirror reflectiveelement as a unit or module (for instance, light from LEDs facing andemitting light in the direction away from the mirror element may bereflected back towards the mirror reflector, and hence through themirror element, using suitably angled or disposed mirrored surfaces).After the baffle or module is attached to the reflective element, theback plate of the mirror assembly may be adhered to the mirrorreflective element to complete the mirror reflector sub assembly that isthen assembled with the actuator and casing and other components to formthe complete mirror assembly for mounting to the side of the vehicle.

A variety of interior and exterior mirror assemblies with indicators areknown in the art, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,355,284; 5,788,357;6,257,746; 6,005,724; 5,481,409; 6,111,683; 6,045,243; 6,512,624;6,356,376; 2,263,382; 2,580,014; 3,266,016; 4,499,451; 4,588,267;4,630,904; 4,623,222; 4,721,364; 4,906,085; 5,313,335; 5,587,699;5,575,552; 5,436,741; 5,587,699; 5,938,320; 6,700,692 and 5,786,772, andCanadian Pat. No. CA 1,063,695, and Great Britain Patent Specification1,172,382 and Pat. Abstracts of Japan Publication No. 0917573, publishedJul. 8, 1997, and PCT Publication WO 95/30495, published Nov. 16, 1995,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved object in a blindspot/LCA indicator that is readily viewable by a driver of the hostvehicle and not visible or viewable by a driver of another vehicleand/or an improved turn signal indicator that is readily viewable by thedriver of another vehicle and not visible or viewable by the driver ofthe host vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an object in a blind spot indicator orlane change assist (LCA) indicator or turn signal indicator or otherindicator that is integral with the mirror reflector carrier or backplate of the mirror reflector sub-assembly so as to be positioned at andattached to the mirror reflective element as the back plate is adheredor otherwise attached at the back of the mirror reflective element.Preferably, the signal indicator is provided as a sealed orsubstantially sealed unit or module that can be snapped into orotherwise attached or secured (preferably mechanically but optionallyadhesively) at the mirror back plate (and does so substantially orwholly sealingly to limit or substantially preclude water ingress to themodule so that the module and back plate are substantially waterimpervious), preferably at the mirror sub-assembly manufacturingoperation when the mirror reflective element (and any associated heateror other item or element) is joined to the mirror back plate, such as byutilizing aspects of the indicators described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859,and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 16, 2006 andpublished Nov. 23, 2006 as International Publication No. WO 2006/124682,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.The present invention thus provides a mirror reflector carrier or backplate with an integrated blind spot indicator/indicators and/or turnsignal indicator/indicators and/or other indicator/indicators.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an exterior rearviewmirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror reflective element, aback plate and an indicator or display device. The back plate is moldedor formed with a baffle having a plurality of light baffle elements thatdefine a plurality of slots through the back plate. The back plate isattached to the rear surface of the reflective element (the surfaceopposite the front surface, with the front surface facing generallyrearward and toward the driver of the vehicle when the mirror assemblyis mounted to the vehicle) and includes an indicator mount or mountingportion for mounting the indicator at the back plate and generally atthe light baffle. The indicator mounting portion extends rearward awayfrom the reflective element and may be integrally formed with the backplate, preferably by injection molding. The indicator mounting portionis formed to receive a transparent or translucent block or glow element,and one or more light sources are disposed at the block, such that lightemitted by the light source or sources is transmitted through the blockand through the slots at the light baffles and through the reflectiveelement for viewing by a person viewing the reflective element at anangle that generally corresponds to the angle established by the lightbaffles and/or the indicator mounting portion, while shielding orshading the light from viewing by a person viewing the reflective angleat another angle that does not generally correspond to the angleestablished by the light baffles and/or indicator mounting portion.

The indicator thus is mounted at the indicator mounting portion and isactivatable so that illumination from the indicator is directed throughthe slots at the light baffles and is thus viewable through thereflective element by a person viewing the mirror reflective element ata desired or generally corresponding angle. The angle of the lightdirection may be established by an angle of the light baffles of theback plate and/or an angle of the transparent or translucent blockestablished by the block itself and/or the indicator mounting portion ofthe back plate.

The mirror back plate, including the light baffles and/or the indicatormounting portion or display receiving portion, may be configured toorient the block or display element at a predetermined angle so thatlight exiting the block when the light source is activated is directedone of (a) generally away from the vehicle when the mirror assembly ismounted to the vehicle so as to be principally viewed by drivers ofother vehicles and so as to be substantially not viewed by the driver ofthe host vehicle, and (b) generally toward the driver of the vehiclewhen the mirror assembly is mounted to the vehicle so as to beprincipally viewed by the driver of the host vehicle and so as to besubstantially not viewed by drivers of other vehicles.

Optionally, the display element is associated with a blind spotdetection system of the vehicle. Optionally, the display element isassociated with a turn signal of the vehicle. Optionally, the displayelement may comprise first and second display elements, with a firstdisplay element being associated with a turn signal of the vehicle and asecond display element being associated with a blind spot detectionsystem of the vehicle.

For applications of a turn signal indicator, the baffle protects orshields the driver from seeing the light or illumination from theillumination source by shading or direct line of sight occlusion (like aVenetian blind). The baffle thus allows illumination to be viewed by atargeted viewer (such as the driver of the host vehicle for blindspot/LCA applications or the driver of another vehicle for turn signalapplications) and limits viewability (or provides direct line of sightocclusion) by others (such as away from other drivers for blind spot/LCAapplications or away from the driver of the host vehicle for turn signalapplications).

The back plate may comprise a plastic molding, such as a plastic moldingformed by injection molding or co-injection molding or the like. Theback plate may be formed with an attaching portion, such as a raisedannular ring or annular prongs or annular snaps or the like at its rearsurface (opposite from the mounting face or surface that attaches to themirror reflective element) for attaching the back plate to a mirroractuator (for manually or electrically adjusting an angle of the mirrorreflective element relative to the mirror casing).

Therefore, the present invention provides a display device or indicatorat the back plate of a mirror reflector sub-assembly. The mirrorreflector sub-assembly thus may achieve enhanced assembly processes, andmay be supplied or provided to a mirror manufacturer or assembler as aunit that includes the indicator mounting portion (and that may alsoinclude the indicator) and display. The integrally formed back plate andindicator mount or mounting portion and light baffles may be readilyattached to the mirror reflective element, and the indicator may bereadily plugged into or connected to or received in the indicator mountto assemble the mirror reflector sub-assembly. The back plate mayinclude one or more indicator mounts or mounting portions and associatedlight baffles for providing one or more displays at the reflectiveelement, such as a blind spot/LCA display and/or a turn signal displayand/or the like.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of an exterior mirror assembly with a display device orindicator in accordance with the present invention, shown as viewed inthe direction of travel of the vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a mirror reflector sub-assembly having aback plate and indicator element in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a display element or block suitable foruse with the indicator element of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a plan view of a display element or block of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of the block and a circuit element ata rear surface of the block in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the back plate of the mirror reflectorsub-assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the back plate of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of another mirror reflector sub-assemblyhaving a back plate and indicator element in accordance with the presentinvention, shown with the indicator element detached from the backplate;

FIG. 8 is another sectional view of the mirror reflector sub-assembly ofFIG. 7, shown with the indicator element attached to the back plate;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of another mirror reflector sub-assemblyhaving a back plate and indicator element in accordance with the presentinvention, shown with the indicator element detached from the backplate;

FIG. 10 is another sectional view of the mirror reflector sub-assemblyof FIG. 9, shown with the indicator element attached to the back plate;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of another back plate of the presentinvention, having an angled attachment element for receiving anindicator element thereat;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the back plate of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of another mirror reflector sub-assembly inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of another mirror reflector sub-assemblysimilar to the mirror reflector sub-assembly of FIG. 13, with ananti-reflection coating at a front surface of the reflective element;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a back plate and indicator modules inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a mirror reflector sub-assembly havingthe back plate and indicator modules of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of another back plate and indicator modulesin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of another back plate and indicator modulesin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 19A is a sectional view of another back plate and indicator modulein accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 19B is a plan view of an indicator stencil or mask for use with theback plate and indicator module of FIG. 19A;

FIG. 19C is a plan view of a mirror reflective element having the backplate and indicator module and indicator mask of FIGS. 19A and 19B;

FIG. 20A is a sectional view of another mirror reflector sub-assemblyhaving a back plate and indicator modules in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 20B is a plan view of the mirror reflector subassembly of FIG. 20A;

FIG. 21A is a perspective view of a rear substrate coated with ametallic reflector in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 21B is a side elevation of the coated rear substrate of FIG. 21A;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view of a mirror reflective element assemblyincorporating the coated rear substrate of FIGS. 21A and 21B;

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the process of forming and coating the rearsubstrate of FIGS. 21A and 21B;

FIG. 24 is a sectional view of another mirror reflective elementassembly in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a sectional view of another mirror reflective elementassembly in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of an exterior mirror assembly with ablind spot indicator in accordance with the present invention, shownwith the indicator as an ISO icon;

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of an exterior mirror assembly similar toFIG. 26, shown with the indicator as a multi-stage indicator;

FIG. 27A is a perspective view of another exterior mirror assemblysimilar to FIG. 27, with the indicator located at an upper region of theinboard portion of the mirror assembly;

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of another exterior mirror assemblysimilar to FIG. 26, shown with the indicator as a hazard icon;

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of a vehicle with an exterior mirrorassembly and blind spot indicator of the present invention, shown as thedriver of a trailing vehicle may view the vehicle and exterior mirrorassembly;

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of the vehicle of FIG. 29, shown as thedriver of an overtaking vehicle may view the vehicle and exterior mirrorassembly;

FIGS. 31A and 31B are perspective views of the driver and passenger sideexterior mirror assemblies and of the interior rearview mirror assembly,with blind spot indicators in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a perspective view of another exterior mirror assembly with ablind spot indicator in the support arm of the mirror assembly inaccordance with the present invention, shown with the indicator as anISO icon;

FIG. 33 is a perspective view of an exterior mirror assembly similar toFIG. 32, shown with the indicator as a multi-stage indicator;

FIG. 34 is a perspective view of another exterior mirror assemblysimilar to FIG. 32, shown with the indicator as a hazard icon;

FIG. 35 is a perspective view of another exterior mirror assemblysimilar to FIG. 32, shown with a multi-stage indicator at the side ofthe mirror shell;

FIG. 36 is a perspective view of another exterior mirror assemblysimilar to FIG. 35, with the indicator at the side of the mirror shelland above the support arm;

FIGS. 37A and 37B are perspective views of the driver and passenger sideexterior mirror assemblies of a vehicle, with blind spot indicators inaccordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 38 is a perspective view of another exterior mirror assembly with ablind spot indicator in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, an exterior rearview mirror assembly 10 for a vehicle includesa mirror reflector sub-assembly 12 and a mirror shell or casing 14 (FIG.1). Mirror assembly 10 is mounted at the side 16 a of a host or subjectvehicle 16. As shown in FIG. 2, mirror reflector sub-assembly 12includes a mirror reflective element 18 and a mirror reflector carrieror back plate 20 attached to or mounted to or adhered to a rear surface18 a of mirror reflective element 18. Mirror assembly 10 includes anindicator or display element or device or signal indication module 22that is disposed at back plate 20 and behind reflective element 18, andthat is operable to provide a display or indication at the reflectiveelement for viewing the display or indication through the mirrorreflective element. Signal indication module 22 includes a transparentor translucent polymeric block or element or indicating light source orelement 24 (that is received into or attached to an indicator receivingportion or mounting portion or structure 26 of back plate so as to bedisposed generally at a rear surface 20 a of back plate 20) and anillumination source or indicator 28, such as one or more light emittingdiodes (LEDs) or other suitable illumination source. Signal indicationmodule 22 is attached to or mounted to or received in or at theindicator mounting portion 26 of back plate 20 so as to be disposedgenerally at and behind a light baffle 30 (FIGS. 2, 5 and 6) integrallyformed with back plate 20. In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 2-6,the mirror assembly includes a signal indication module 22 for an objectdetection in a blind spot detection system or LCA system, as discussedbelow, but could also or otherwise include a display device for a turnsignal indicator or signal indication module or other indicator device(as also discussed below). The indicator element or signal indicationmodule thus may be readily mounted to or attached to a unitary backplate (including an indicator mounting portion), such as by utilizingaspects of the indicators described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859; and/orSer. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 asU.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 16, 2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 asInternational Publication No. WO 2006/124682, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include multiple display elements ordevices or signal indication modules (such as two or more displayelements or devices or signal indication modules) for providing both anobject in a blind spot/LCA indicator and display area 19 a and a turnsignal indicator and display area 19 b, such as shown in FIG. 1. The twoor more signal indication modules may be incorporated together into asingle unitary display module or unit (and thus with a common connectorincorporated in the single unitary module and servicing, for example, acommonly housed turn signal indicator element and blind spot indicatorelement), or the two or more signal indication modules may be separatedisplay devices (for example, a LCA blind spot indicator unitary modulemay be disposed at a bottom/lower inward portion of the mirrorsub-assembly and a separate turn signal indicator unitary module may bedisposed at an upper outward portion of the mirror sub-assembly), whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.Optionally, for example, a turn signal indicator or device or element ormodule of the present invention may be incorporated into a mirrorsub-assembly, and the exterior rearview mirror assembly may include ablind spot or lane change assist indicating device or element at aportion of the mirror casing (such as at an inboard facing portion ofthe casing that faces generally inboard toward the side of the vehicleso as to be readily viewable by the driver of the vehicle), such as byutilizing aspects of the indicating elements described in PCTApplication No. PCT/US2006/026148, filed Jul. 5, 2006 and published Jan.11, 2007 as International Publication No. WO 2007/005942, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, signal indication module 22 includes acircuit element 32, such as a printed circuit board or the like (such asa rigid or flexible circuit board or element), with illumination sourcesor LEDs 28 disposed thereat (such as surface mounted or otherwisedisposed LEDs or other suitable or equivalent light sources). Circuitelement 32 is attachable to a rear surface 24 a of indicating lightsource or block 24, whereby the illumination sources 28 are located atthe rear surface and preferably at or partially within light sourcereceiving apertures or recesses 24 b at the rear surface 24 a ofindicating light source or block 24. The signal indication module 22 maybe purchased as a display element assembly (including the circuitelement and circuitry, which are attached at the rear of the indicatinglight source or block 24) and assembled to the mirror reflective elementsub-assembly 12, such as at a mirror assembly facility, such asdescribed below. Circuit element 32 preferably includes an electricalconnector 32 a or lead or terminal for electrically connecting thecircuitry and light source to electrical power or electrical control atthe mirror assembly when the signal indication module is attached to theback plate and installed at the mirror casing.

Indicating light source or block 24 of signal indication module 22comprises a transparent or translucent polymeric block, such as may becast or injection molded from an optical light transmitting polymericresin, such as a polycarbonate or an acrylic, or an acrylate, or apolystyrene, or a CR-39 or a COC olefin or other suitable material. Theblock may be molded as a translucent element, and may comprise amaterial that is at least partially crystalline, or the material mayhave a light scattering material mixed therein, or may be otherwiseselected so as to provide a diffuse block, whereby the illuminationemitted by the illumination source or LED will emanate from the forwardsurface of the block as a substantially uniform glow. The translucentdiffuse block or element may be formed to a desired or suitable shape,such as an arrow or chevron shape (such as shown in FIG. 3), so as toprovide the desired form for viewing by the driver of the vehicle.Preferably, the block comprises a translucent block, and thus transmitsand diffuses light passing therethrough so that the light sources arenot clearly or readily seen through the block by a person viewing theblock. The block thus provides substantially uniform light distributionand provides a glowing indicating light source or block when theillumination source or LED/LEDs are activated or energized. Thus, thelight emanating from the signal indicating module will not be seen asone or more point sources of light (i.e., the LED or LEDs will not beseen as individual point sources of light), but the light will beprovided via a substantially uniformly glowing light source orindicating light source via the diffuse, translucent block or element.

Preferably, the indicating light source or block is partially orsubstantially coated or painted or covered or sleeved or formed so as tohave a light reflecting rear surface 24 a and side surfaces 24 c (FIG.3) so that light emitted by illumination sources 28 at the receivingapertures 24 b is directed through the block and toward and through thelight baffle 30 and through the reflective element 18, and is nottransmitted through the side walls or surfaces 24 c and rear wall orsurface 24 a of the indicating light source or block 24, such that lightis not emitted into the cavity of the mirror casing. For example, therear surface (excluding the light source receiving apertures) and sidesurfaces of the block may be formed or coated to have white diffuse orsilvery specular surfaces, such as via application of a reflective tapeor a reflective coating or paint or a white tape or coating or paint(such as a diffuse coating such as a white paint or argon paint ortitanium paint or the like) at the side and rear surfaces of the block(in other words, the block may be covered or coated at all of itssurfaces except its front surface that faces generally toward thereflective element). Optionally, and desirably, the color of the coatingor paint (or other material or surface layer or characteristic) may beselected to provide enhanced reflectivity depending on the color and/ortype of illumination source or LED of the signal indicating module. Forexample, if a red LED is used as the illumination source, the indicatinglight source or block may have a red coating or paint at its sidesurfaces and rear surface so as to enhance reflectivity of the red lightemitted by the red LED at the sides and rear of the block so that thelight is reflected and transmitted through the block and toward thereflective element for viewing as a substantially uniform glowing blockor indicating light source (if other color LEDs are used, then othercorrespondingly colored coatings may be used to generally correspond tothe wavelengths of light emitted by the colored LEDs). Thus, lightemitted by the illumination sources 28 is emitted into the block wherethe light may pass through the block (and toward the reflective element)or may reflect off of the sides and rear of the block and toward thereflective element so as to provide a substantially uniform glow to theindicating light source or block when the illumination sources areactivated.

Back plate 20 is molded or formed, such as by injection molding, so asto provide the display receiving portion 26 and a generally planarbacking portion 20 a that attaches to the rear surface of the reflectiveelement 18 (such as via adhesive or other suitable attachment means).Preferably, back plate 20, including display receiving portion 26 andlight baffle 30, is molded of a substantially dark or opaque or blackmaterial, such as from an ABS or polycarbonate polymeric resin materialor from any other suitable material such as known in the exteriorrearview mirror art, so as to be substantially opaque such that lightdoes not pass through the opaque back plate and the indicator mountingportion.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, indicator mounting portion 26 is unitarilyor integrally formed with back plate 20 and may be formed with a pocket26 a for receiving or partially receiving block 24 to locate indicatinglight source or block 24 at the generally planar backing portion 20 a ofback plate 20. For example, the pocket 26 a may receive indicating lightsource or block 24 at least partially therein, and the indicatormounting portion 26 may secure (such as by snapping or the like) theblock at or in the pocket 26 a of indicator mounting portion 26 of backplate 20.

Back plate 20 is formed (such as via injection molding or the like, suchas injection molding of ABS or polypropylene or the like) with lightbaffle 30 at the pocket defined by mounting portion 26. As can be seenwith reference to FIGS. 2 and 5, light baffle 30 comprises a pluralityof angled or slanted ribs or vanes or baffle elements 30 a that areseparated or defined by gaps or slots or slits 30 b formed through theback plate 20, whereby light from the light sources 28 is transmittedthrough the block 24 and through the gaps or slots 30 b at the backplate 20. The baffle elements thus may be integrally formed with theback plate, with the slots being formed as openings or apertures orpassageways through the generally planar back plate and between thebaffle elements 30 a. As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, baffle elements30 a are integrally formed or molded with back plate 20 and are angledto direct or angle the light or allow the light passing through theslots to be viewed from a desired or appropriate direction, whileshielding or shading the light or providing line of sight occlusion ofthe light so that the light is substantially not viewed from anotherdirection. Optionally, the surfaces of the baffle elements 30 a (such asthe surfaces facing partially toward the reflective element when theback plate is attached to the rear of the reflective element) may betextured or stippled to diffuse or absorb light so as to reducevisibility of the baffle elements to a person viewing the reflectiveelement when the signal indicating module is deactivated.

Optionally, and desirably, and as can be seen in FIG. 6, the baffleelements 30 a and slots or slits 30 b are substantially verticallyoriented so as to be substantially vertical when the mirror assembly ismounted at the side of a vehicle (so as to shade or shield or limitviewability of light emanating from the indicator module in a generallyhorizontal direction). However, it is envisioned that the baffleelements and slots may be angled or canted (or non-vertical) dependingon the particular application and desired shielding by the light baffle.In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, the generally verticalbaffle elements are angled or slanted so that light emanating fromindicator module 22 is viewable from a location outboard of the vehicle(such as for viewing of a turn signal indicator by a driver of a vehicleat the side of or rearward of the host vehicle), and is substantiallynon-viewable by the driver of the host vehicle. The angle or slant ofthe baffle elements may be selected depending on the particularapplication of the indicator module and on the location of the indicatormodule at the mirror assembly. For example, the baffle elements may beslanted so as to allow light to pass through the slots or gaps at anangle of about 65 degrees (or more or less) relative to the generallyvertical plane of the back plate and reflective element (i.e., about 25degrees outboard from a line extending perpendicularly from the plane ofthe back plate and reflective element). The baffle thus allows a personto view the indicator from an angle around 25 degrees outboard, yetsubstantially shields or provides direct line of sight occlusion to aperson viewing the reflective element from another angle such as fromwithin the vehicle, such as from a typical location of a driver's head.

Optionally, and desirably, the baffle elements may be formed to providea minimum or reduced thickness while the gaps or slots are formed toallow a substantial amount of light from the glow block to passtherethrough, in order to enhance the viewability of the indicator alongthe targeted direction when the indicator is activated. For example, thebaffle elements may be formed with a wall thickness of about 0.75 mm toabout 1.1 mm (or more or less depending on the particular application),while the slots or gaps may be sized to each provide a passageway thatis wider than the thickness of the baffle elements, such as about 1 mmto about 1.3 mm (or more or less depending on the particularapplication). The particular width of the baffle elements and slots orgaps may be selected to provide the desired viewability of lightemanating from the indicator module in one direction, while shading orshielding or limiting viewability of the light from another direction,and thus may vary depending on the particular application of theindicator module and light baffle while remaining within the spirit andscope of the present invention.

Although shown in FIG. 6 as being a generally rectangular-shaped displayregion, the light baffle 30 and mounting portion 26 may be formed toprovide the desired icon or indicator or display, such as a chevronshape or arrow shape or the like. Optionally, the light baffle andmounting portion may be formed as shown in FIG. 6, while the glow blockor indicating light source may be formed to the desired shape such thatthe glow emanating from the indicating light source is viewable as thedesired shape and from the desired or targeted direction (such anapplication may include a dark or opaque layer or element at the rear ofthe light baffle and around the glow block to limit passage of lighttherethrough).

For example, and as shown in FIG. 3, the glow block or indicating lightsource may have an arrow or chevron shape (and may be mounted at themounting portion with the arrow pointing generally outward and away fromthe vehicle as shown in FIG. 1). The size of the block may be selectedso that the light emanating therefrom (when the illumination source isactivated) is readily viewable by the targeted viewer. For example, andas shown in FIG. 3A, the block may have a length (from the left tip inFIG. 3A to the right end of the block in FIG. 3A) of about 35 mm and aheight of about 60 mm, with each leg being about 35 mm long and about 8mm wide. The thickness of the block may be selected to provide thedesired diffusion of the light from the illumination source so as toprovide the desired glow by the block when the illumination source isactivated. For example, the block may have a thickness t of about 15 mm(as shown in FIG. 4) so as to emanate the desired or appropriate diffuselight or glow when the illumination source is activated. Other sizedimensions may be selected and may depend on the particular applicationof the block, without affecting the scope of the present invention.

Thus, the unitary back plate provides the mounting structure formounting the signal indication module at the rear of the back plate andprovides the light baffles or ribs or elements for directing the lightfrom the signal indication module at a desired or appropriate directiontoward and through the reflective element when the back plate (with thesignal indication module attached thereto) is attached to the reflectiveelement. As shown in FIG. 6, the indicator mounting portion 26 of backplate 20 is formed around the light baffle 30 of back plate 20, so as togenerally frame or surround the light baffle, whereby the signalindication module is generally at or aligned with the light baffle whenreceived in or mounted at the indicator mounting portion.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, an attachment element or elements 20 b(such as an annular ring or tab or annular prongs or annular snaps orthe like) may be formed or established at the rear of the backingportion 20 a for attaching the back plate 20 and reflective element 18to a mirror actuator (such as a mirror actuator as known in the artand/or as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,080,914; 7,073,914; 6,916,100;6,755,544; 6,685,864; 6,467,920; 6,362,548; 6,243,218; 6,229,226;6,213,612; 5,986,364 and 5,900,999, which are hereby incorporated hereinby reference herein in their entireties), which is adjustable oroperable to adjust a viewing angle of mirror reflective element 18. Whenthe mirror reflective element is canted or angled partially toward thedriver of the host vehicle (which is typically the orientation of thereflective element during use so as to provide a generally rearwardfield of view to the driver of the host vehicle), there is sufficientspace within the mirror casing at or near the outboard portion of themirror assembly for the indicator mounting portion and signal indicationmodule. The back plate and signal indication module of the presentinvention thus utilizes the space within the mirror head or casing thatis already available and typically not used or occupied by othercomponents.

Illumination source or sources 28 is/are operable or activatable orenergizable to provide illumination at and through indicating lightsource or block 24, whereby the illumination is transmitted throughindicating light source or block 24 and through the slots 30 b of lightbaffle 30 of back plate 20 and through the reflective element 18 so asto be viewable through mirror reflective element 18 by a person viewingthe mirror assembly 10. Preferably, the width of the slots are made soas to enhance or optimize light transmission through the light baffle ofthe back plate, whereby the baffle elements may be formed to besubstantially thin. The signal indication module 22 may comprise a blindspot or object detection indicating device or module that is operable toindicate to the driver of the subject or host vehicle that an object orother vehicle is detected at the side or blind spot region of the hostvehicle by a blind spot detection system (or may comprise a turn signalindicating device or module that is operable to indicate to the driveror passenger of another vehicle that the vehicle is turning or changinglanes, or may comprise other forms or types of display or illuminationor indicating devices or modules, as discussed below).

Illumination source 28 (such as one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)or organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) or the like) is/are energizedto direct or emit illumination through indicating light source or block24 so that the indicator/light is viewable through the reflectiveelement. The indicating light source or block 24 and/or light baffle 30may be formed to provide a desired shape for viewing of the lightpassing through the reflective element or the mirror reflective elementmay include one or more iconistic display areas so that the illuminationis viewable and discernible at the reflective element by the desired ortargeted viewer, depending on the angle of the ribs or baffle elements30 a of light baffle 30. The mirror assembly thus may provide aniconistic display for an object detection/LCA system and/or an iconisticdisplay for a turn signal indication, and/or may provide other displaysor illumination devices, without affecting the scope of the presentinvention. Optionally, the baffle elements may be painted or coated witha diffuse reflecting layer or paint or coating to enhance the intensityof the light emanating from the light baffle and through the reflectiveelement. Optionally, and desirably, however, the baffle elements may bedark colored and may include textured surfaces to substantially absorblight so as to reduce visibility of the light baffle through thereflective element when the illumination source is deactivated.

Preferably, the mirror reflective element 18 comprises a transflectivedisplay on demand reflective element that is partially transmissive andpartially reflective, so that the light emanating or glowing from theblock may be transmitted through the reflective element when theillumination source is activated, but the indicator and light baffle issubstantially non-visible or viewable when the illumination source isdeactivated. Optionally, the mirror reflective element 18 may comprise asingle substrate or non-electro-optic reflective element (such as shownin FIG. 2), which has a glass substrate 34 with a transflector coatingor layer 36 at its forward surface 34 a. For example, the transflectorcoating or layer 36 may comprise an elemental semiconductor coating,such as a silicon-based coating, or may comprise a multilayer stack ofnon-conducting or poorly conducting but highly transparent thin filmcoatings (such as metal oxides, such as silicon dioxide or titaniumdioxide or zirconium oxide, or metal halides, such as magnesiumfluoride), and where the outermost layer of such a stack that is incontact with any electro-optic medium, such an electrochromic medium, iselectrically conducting, and preferably comprises a indium tin oxidelayer of sheet resistance in the range of about 5 ohms.square to about20 ohms.square range, or the transflector coating or layer 36 maycomprise a metal oxide/metal/metal oxide stack (with at least one of themetal oxide layers comprising a conducting or semiconducting layer),such as an IMI (such as ITO/silver/ITO or ITO/silver alloy/ITO or othersuitable alternating layers of materials or the like) stack of layers orcoatings such as by utilizing aspects of the reflective elementsdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,690,268; 5,668,663 and/or 5,724,187,and/or in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/528,269, filed Mar. 17,2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,274,501; Ser. No. 10/533,762, filed May 4,2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,190; and/or Ser. No. 11/021,065, filedDec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Optionally, thereflective element may comprise an electro-optic, such aselectrochromic, reflective element, such as discussed below.

Optionally, a heater pad 38 may be provided at the rear surface 34 b ofthe glass substrate 34 of reflective element 18 and between the backingportion 20 a of back plate 420 and the reflective element 18 to providean anti-fogging of de-fogging feature to the exterior mirror assembly(such as by utilizing aspects of the heater elements or pads describedin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/334,139, filed Jan. 18, 2006, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,400,435, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety). The back plate and/or heater pad may includesuitable electrical connectors and connections incorporated therein(such as by utilizing aspects of the mirror assembly described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/334,139, filed Jan. 18, 2006, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,400,435, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety) for electrically connecting the heater pad and/or displayelement (or other suitable electrical connectors may be utilized, suchas electrical leads or wire harnesses or pigtails or other separateconnectors or cables or the like). The heater pad 38 includes a hole oropening or aperture 38 a therethrough (or optionally a window ortransparent or translucent or diffuse portion of the heater pad, such asa clear or diffusing transparent polyester flexible plastic film orelement) that generally corresponds to the light baffle 30 of back plate20 when the heater pad 38 is attached to the rear surface 34 b of glasssubstrate 34 and when the back plate 20 is attached to the rear surfaceof the heater pad 38. Optionally, and desirably, the heater pad 38 mayinclude an adhesive layer (such as a pressure sensitive adhesive layer)at its rear surface for adhering the back plate 20 to the heater pad 38and thus to the rear surface 34 b of the glass substrate 34 of thereflective element 18. As shown in FIG. 2, back plate 20 is adhered toheater pad 38 such that indicator mounting portion 26 and light baffle30 are positioned or located generally at the aperture 38 a of heaterpad 38 so as to be generally at the display area of the reflectiveelement.

Optionally, the back plate may include a perimeter framing portion orbezel portion that extends around the perimeter edges of the reflectiveelement to support the reflective element and frame the reflectiveelement at the mirror assembly (such as by utilizing aspects of themirror assemblies described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). The perimeterbezel portion may be narrow or small depending on the particularapplication of the reflective element and mirror reflector sub-assembly.Optionally, the mirror reflector sub-assembly may comprise a bezellessor frameless reflective element (such as the types described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 andpublished Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008; Ser.No. 10/533,762, filed May 4, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,190; and/orSer. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451,and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006 andpublished Nov. 23, 2006 as International Publication No. WO 2006/124682,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties),whereby the back plate may not include a perimeter framing portion orbezel portion around the perimeter of the reflective element.

Optionally, and preferably, indicator element or display element orsignal indication module 22 may snap into or may be threaded into theend or pocket of the indicator mounting portion 26 or may otherwise beattached or stuck at the indicator mounting portion, and may have agasket or seal at the signal indication module to provide asubstantially water proof or water resistant or water tight seal at thesignal indication module, whereby the signal indication module may besealed at the indicator mounting portion, such as by gluing or pressingor screwing or gasketing or hermetically sealing or otherwisesubstantially sealing the signal indication module at the indicatormounting portion. The signal indication module may comprise aself-contained, unitary, sealed or substantially sealed, indicatormodule that includes the translucent block, an illumination source (suchas one or more LEDs or the like), a DC converter with a voltage droppingresistor (such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,902,284 and 6,690,268and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/054,633, filed Jan. 22, 2002,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,381, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties). The signal indication module thus may beconnected to a power source and may be activated or energized toilluminate the display for viewing by the driver of the vehicle.Optionally, the electrical connections to the signal indication modulemay be made while the signal indication module is attached to the mirrorassembly, such as via a plug and socket type arrangement orconfiguration, and such as by utilizing aspects of the mirror assemblydescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,267, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. The unitary signal indicationmodule may include or utilize aspects of various light modules orsystems or devices, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos.6,227,689; 6,582,109; 5,371,659; 5,497,306; 5,669,699; 5,823,654;6,176,602 and/or 6,276,821, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859, and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 16, 2006 and published Nov.23, 2006 as International Publication No. WO 2006/124682, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the signal indication module may be supplied or provided toan assembly facility (such as a mirror assembly facility or the like)from a module supplier while the back plate may be supplied or providedto the assembly facility from a back plate supplier. An operator at theassembly facility may attach the module to the back plate, preferably bysnapping or pressing the module to the back plate to assemble the moduleto the back plate (whereby the module may have a snug fit within thereceiving portion or pocket such that the module and back plate arepreferably substantially water impervious). Optionally, and desirably,electrical connection (such as to a power supply or 12 volt power wireof the vehicle battery/ignition system or to a power feed from a LIN buscontroller) to the module may be made when the module is snapped orotherwise attached (preferably mechanically but optionally adhesively)to the back plate (such as by making electrical contact between themodule and mirror circuitry [including circuitry associated with thereflective element and/or mirror assembly, such as electrochromic mirrorcircuitry, mirror lights and display circuitry and the like, typicallydisposed at a printed circuit board of the mirror assembly] when themodule is snapped to the back plate, such as by press attaching thedisplay module into receiving fingers or clips or snaps or the like thatare integrally formed with the back plate in the injection moldingoperation that manufactures or forms the back plate itself) oralternately, electrical connection to the module may be made via othermeans, such as wires or leads or the like before or after the module issnapped or attached to the back plate.

Optionally, and as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a reflective element assembly12′ includes a reflective element 18′ and a back plate 20′, whichincludes a plurality of angled baffle elements 30 a′ of a light baffle30′. Back plate 20′ includes an attachment element or snap element 26 a′for attaching to or snapping to a corresponding attachment element orsnap element 26 b′ of a signal indicating module 22′ to attach orsupport signal indicating module 22′ at the rear of back plate 20′ andat and rearward of light baffle 30′. The attachment element 26 a′ may beintegrally formed at the rear of the back plate 20′ (such as during theintegral molding formation of the back plate itself and such as via aninjection molding tool or the like) and at or near baffle elements 30 a′of light baffle 30′ of back plate 20′, while attachment elements 26 b′may be integrally formed or otherwise established at a forward surfaceof signal indicating module 22′. Although described as snaps or snapelements, other mechanical or adhesive means may be utilized to attachthe signal indicating module to the back plate, while remaining withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the signalindicating module 22′ may be mounted to or supported at the rear surfaceof the light baffle 30′ (and may be substantially parallel to the rearsurface of the reflective element 18′ or to the generally planar portion20 a′ or rear surface of the back plate 20′). Back plate 20′ may alsoinclude a mounting portion 20 b′ for mounting or attaching the backplate 20′ to a mirror actuator (not shown), such as described above.

Signal indication module 22′ includes a transparent or translucentpolymeric block or element or indicating light source or element 24′ andan illumination source or indicator 28′, such as one or more lightemitting diodes (LEDs) or other suitable illumination source, such asdescribed above. In the illustrated embodiment, signal indicating module22′ comprises a rhombus-shaped or parallelogram shaped element having atransparent or translucent optical plastic block 24′ at least partiallysurrounded by or encased by side walls 25′. The optical block 24′ may belight reflecting or light absorbing or light diffusing depending on theparticular application and desired lighting effect for the signalindicating module. Optionally, the optical block may be cast orinjection molded from an optical light transmitting polymeric resin,such as a polycarbonate or an acrylic, or an acrylate, or a polystyrene,or a CR-39 or a COC olefin or other suitable material. The block may bemolded as a translucent element, and may comprise a material that is atleast partially crystalline, or the material may have a light scatteringmaterial mixed therein, or may be otherwise selected so as to provide adiffuse block, whereby the illumination emitted by the illuminationsource or LED will emanate from the forward surface of the block as asubstantially uniform glow. The translucent diffuse block or element maybe formed to a desired or suitable shape, such as described above, so asto provide the desired form for viewing by the driver of the vehicle.

Signal indication module 22′ includes a circuit element 32′, such as aprinted circuit board or the like (such as a rigid or flexible circuitboard or element), with illumination sources or LEDs 28′ disposedthereat (such as surface mounted or otherwise disposed LEDs or othersuitable or equivalent light sources). Circuit element 32′ is attachableto a rear surface 24 a′ of indicating light source or block 24′, wherebythe illumination sources 28′ are located at the rear surface andpreferably at or partially within light source receiving apertures orrecesses 24 b′ at the rear surface 24 a′ of indicating light source orblock 24′. The signal indication module 22′ may be purchased as adisplay element assembly or module (including the circuit element andcircuitry, which are attached at the rear of the indicating light sourceor block 24′) and assembled to the mirror reflective elementsub-assembly 12′, such as at a mirror assembly facility, and such as viasnapping the attachment elements 26 a′ and 26 b′ together to attach thesignal indicating module 22′ at the rear of the back plate 20′ andgenerally at light baffle 30′ molded or formed as part of the back plate20′. Circuit element 32′ preferably includes an electrical connector orlead or terminal for electrically connecting the circuitry and lightsource to electrical power or electrical control at the mirror assemblywhen the signal indication module is attached to the back plate andinstalled at the mirror casing.

Thus, signal indicating module 22′ provides an angled shape with theside walls 25′ being angled generally along a similar angle as the angleof the baffle elements or vanes 30 a′ of light baffle 30′. Forapplication as a turn signal indicator, the angle of the vanes 30 a′ isselected so that the vanes 30 a′ are generally canted toward or directedtoward the portion of the roadway adjacent to the side of the vehicle towhich the exterior rearview mirror assembly utilizing signal indicatingmodule 22′ is mounted, and where the driver of an overtaking vehiclegenerally adjacent to the equipped vehicle would readily observe theindication. Alternatively, should the indicator be a blind spotindicator, the angle of the vanes or baffle elements may be selected sothat the vanes are generally canted toward or directed toward the sideof the vehicle to which the exterior rearview mirror assembly utilizingthe signal indicating module is mounted, and where the driver of theequipped vehicle would readily observe the indication or alert providedby the indicating module.

The parallelogram shape of signal indicating module 22′ provides theangled side walls 25′ while providing a rear surface 24 a′ of opticalblock 24′ that is generally parallel to the generally planar back plate20′, such that the non-angled rear surface of the optical block 24′ mayhave a reduced depth into the mirror casing so as to be more readilypackaged within the mirror assembly. The optical block 24′ may be formedto the desired shape and the outer side walls 25′ may be formed orestablished or coated therearound, such as via overmolding techniques orpainting or the like, or the outer side walls 25′ may be formed and theoptical block 24′ may be molded or injected or established therein, suchas via a separate molding process or co-injection molding process or thelike. The inner surfaces of the outer side walls 25′ may have a surfacetreatment or characteristic, such as by decoration or treatment, such asby coatings or paints or the like, or such as by physical establishment,such as grain, stipple, pits/light traps or the like established duringthe molding of the plastic elements themselves, to provide the desiredreflectivity/diffusivity of the signal indicating module 22′.Optionally, a cover or seal or the like may be provided at leastpartially around the signal indicating module to cover and/orsubstantially seal the circuit element and optical block at and withinthe signal indicating module. The signal indicating module thus providesa self-contained module or device that may be readily attached to themirror back plate and readily connected to electrical wiring or leads ofthe mirror assembly.

In the illustrated embodiment, reflective element 18′ comprises anelectrochromic reflective element (but could comprise anon-electrochromic reflective element without affecting the scope of thepresent invention) having a front substrate 40, a rear substrate 42 andan electrochromic medium 43 (such as a solid polymer matrixelectrochromic medium or the like) sandwiched therebetween and sealedvia a perimeter seal 44. Front substrate 40 has a transparent conductorcoating 46 (such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) coating or layer) disposedat its rear surface 40 a, while rear substrate 42 has a transflectorcoating 48 (such as a non-dichroic transflector, such as an ITO/Ag/ITOstack of layers or coatings or the like) disposed at its front surface42 a. Optionally, the reflective element may include a perimetalmetallic reflector band 50 (such as chromium or other suitablematerial), such as by utilizing aspects of the reflective elementsdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/528,269, filed Mar. 17,2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,274,501; Ser. No. 10/533,762, filed May 4,2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,190; Ser. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23,2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451; and/or Ser. No. 11/226,628, filedSep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No.US-2006-0061008, which are all hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties. In the illustrated embodiment, the metallicreflector band 50 is disposed at the rear surface 40 a of frontsubstrate 40, with the transparent conductor coating 46 overlapping theband 50 at the perimeter regions of the reflective element, but thereflector band may otherwise be disposed over the transparent conductor,depending on the particular or selected or desired tint or appearance ofthe metallic perimeter band.

Mirror reflector sub-assembly 12′ also includes a heater pad 38 disposedbetween back plate 20′ and the rear surface 42 b of rear substrate 42.As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, heater pad 38 has an aperture 38 a formedtherethrough that generally corresponds with the light baffle 30′ ofback plate 20′ when the heater element is attached or adhered to theback plate. Optionally, and desirably, an opacifying element or layer orcoating or film 52 (such as black or dark color, such as dark blue ordark grey, paint or ink or film or coating or tape or lacquer or thelike, and preferably a dark, light-absorbing layer that is printed orscreened onto the fourth or rear surface of the electrochromicreflective element or cell) may be disposed between heater element 38and rear surface 42 b of rear substrate 42. The dark or opacifying layermay be established via any suitable establishing methods or means, suchas painting, printing, ink jet printing, pad printing, screening or thelike.

Optionally, and with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, a reflective elementassembly 12″ includes a reflective element 18′ (such as similar to thereflective element described above) and a back plate 20″. Back plate 20″includes an attachment element or snap element 26 a″ for attaching to orsnapping to a corresponding attachment element or snap element 26 b″ ofa signal indicating module 22″ to attach or support signal indicatingmodule 22″ at the rear of back plate 20″ and at and rearward of anaperture 20 d″ formed through back plate 20″. The attachment element 26a″ may be integrally formed at the rear of the back plate 20″ and at ornear aperture 20 d″ of back plate 20″, while attachment elements 26 b″may be integrally formed or otherwise established at a forward surfaceof signal indicating module 22″. Thus, the signal indicating module 22″may be mounted to or supported at the rear surface of the back plate 20″(and may be substantially parallel to the rear surface of the reflectiveelement 18′ or to the generally planar portion 20 a″ or rear surface ofthe back plate 20″). Back plate 20″ may also include a mounting portion20 b″ for mounting or attaching the back plate 20″ to a mirror actuator(not shown), such as described above.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, signal indicating module 22″ includes atransparent or translucent polymeric block or element or indicatinglight source or element 24″ disposed at least partially within an outercasing or shell 25″, and an illumination source or indicator 28″, suchas one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) or other suitableillumination source, disposed at the rear surface 24 a″ of the opticalblock 24″. Similar to signal indicating module 22′, discussed above,signal indicating module 22″ comprises a rhombus-shaped or parallelogramshaped element having a transparent or translucent optical plastic block24″ at least partially surrounded by or encased by outer shell 25″.Optionally, the signal indicating module or shell or element may be anysuitable or desirable or appropriate shape (at least at its terminalportion closest to the rear of the reflective mirror element) to providea desired indicator or icon as seen by a person viewing from the frontof the reflective mirror element when the signal indictor is activated.For example, the signal indicating module or tube or shell or elementmay comprise a triangular-shaped tube or element for providing atriangular-shaped indicator or icon, such as for a signal indicative ofa hazard signal of the vehicle being activated, or may be any othershape as desired.

In the illustrated embodiment, outer shell 25″ includes side walls 25 a″and a forward surface or portion 25 b″, which includes a light baffle30″ molded as part of the outer shell. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10,forward portion 25 b″ of outer shell 25″ has the light baffle 30″ (whichincludes a plurality of baffle elements or vanes 30 a″ formed at anangle relative to the planar forward surface of the forward portion 25b″ with slots formed between the vanes for light from the illuminationsource 28″ to pass therethrough) integrally formed therewith. Althoughshown in FIGS. 9 and 10 as extending partially along the depth of theouter shell 25″, the baffle elements 30 a″ may extend substantially theentire depth of the shell 25″ so that a rearward end or region of thebaffle elements is generally at or near the rear surface of the opticalblock 24″ when the optical block 24″ is established within shell 25″, asdiscussed below. Optionally, the baffle elements or vanes 30 a″ may beformed with apertures or holes therethrough to allow light from withinoptical block 24″ (such as at the sides of the baffle) to pass throughthe vanes 30 a″ to enhance the light emanating from the forward portionof the signal indicating module when the illumination source isactivated. The vanes at either or both sides of the baffle portion mayhave more holes or apertures therethrough, while the inner vanes may nothave holes therethrough, in order to provide the desired degree of lightemanating from the signal indicating module. The forward portion 25 b″of shell 25″ further includes attachment elements 26 b″, such asreceiving portions for receiving the attachment elements 26 a″ of backplate 20″.

Optionally, the outer shell 25″ may be molded of a plastic or polymericmaterial, such as a dark plastic resin or a light or white plastic resinor the like, and the inner surfaces of the side walls 25 a″ may have asurface treatment or characteristic, such as stippling or texturing orcoating or the like (such as discussed above), established thereon. Theoptical block 24″ may be formed via a separate injection molding processor a co-injection molding process, wherein the polymeric material of theoptical block (such as a polycarbonate or acrylic material or the like)may be injected or established within the side walls 25 a″ of outershell 25″ and within the slots between the baffle elements 30 a″.Optionally, the tube or shell or element or side walls of the tube orshell or element may be lined with a visible light highly reflectingmaterial (such as by being formed at least partially of a brightreflecting material and/or by being coated or painted or decorated witha bright reflecting material and/or by being sleeved with a highlyreflecting metal thin film or foil or coating) so as to enhance passageof light down along the tube or shell or element and so as to enhancethe luminance of the displayed hazard or other indication as viewed by aperson viewing the mirror assembly when the illumination source isactivated and when being viewed such as on a bright sunny day wheredisplay wash-out might be a concern, or the tube or shell or side wallsof the tube or shell or element may only have the distal part or portion(the portion or end region of the shell that is further away from therear surface of the reflective element and toward or at the illuminationsource) be reflective (which may be specularly reflective, such as froma metal coating or foil, and/or may be diffusely reflective, such asfrom a white paint or pigment or from an Argent paint or coating), whilethe rest of the tube or shell or element, or side walls of the shell ortube or element, closest to the terminal end at the rear of the mirrorreflective element are substantially not reflecting or are lightabsorbing or black or the like, in order to enhance the directionalityof the light emitted by the indicator module.

The illumination source 28″ or circuit element 32″ (such as a printedcircuit board or the like) may be attached or snapped to the rear of themodule, such as to the rear surface 24 a″ of the optical block 24″ or toa rear attachment portion of the outer shell, whereby the illuminationsources 28″ are located at the rear surface of the optical block andpreferably at or partially within light source receiving apertures orrecesses 24 b″ at the rear surface 24 a″ of optical block 24″. Thecircuit element 32″ may include electrical connectors or terminals forconnecting the signal indicating module 22″ to electrical leads of themirror assembly when the reflective element assembly 12″ is installed ator in a mirror assembly.

Optionally, a cover or seal or the like may be provided at leastpartially around the signal indicating module to cover and/orsubstantially seal the circuit element and optical block at and withinthe signal indicating module (or the signal indicating module may beotherwise substantially sealed) so that the signal indicating module maybe substantially water impervious. The signal indicating module thusprovides a self-contained module or device that may be readily attachedto the mirror back plate and readily connected to electrical wiring orleads of the mirror assembly. Advantageously, the substantially sealedsignal indicating module may be brought in or installed as a single orunitary module with sealed elements and mechanical connections andelectrical connectors pre-established as part of the sealed unitarysignal indicating module. Thus, the mechanical connectors or elements orconnections may mechanically connect to the mirror back plate, and theelectrical connectors may be electrically connected to electrical wiringor leads of the mirror assembly when the sealed, self-contained signalindicating module is installed at or in or at least partially in theexterior rearview mirror assembly.

Thus, signal indicating module 22″ provides an angled shape with theside walls 25 a″ of the outer shell 25″ being angled generally along asimilar angle as the angle of the baffles or vanes or elements 30 a″ oflight baffle 30″ of outer shell 25″ of signal indicating module 22″. Theparallelogram shape of signal indicating module 22″ provides the angledside walls 25″ while providing a rear surface 24 a″ of optical block 24″that is generally parallel to the generally planar back plate 20″, suchthat the non-angled rear surface of the optical block 24″ may have areduced depth into the mirror casing so as to be more readily packagedwithin the mirror assembly with a reduced packing density within themirror assembly.

The signal indicating module of the present invention (such as, forexample, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10) provides an economical andeffective signal indicator without requiring the expense or complexityof providing a lens or other optical device that receives the light fromthe light assembly and emits it in a given direction as parallel rays.Thus, no collimating optical element, or equivalent thereof, is utilizedor needed in the construction of the signal indicating module of thepresent invention. The present invention provides a semi-transparentmirror reflective element (having a substrate with a coating on onesurface that is substantially transparent and reflective at any givenpoint, e.g., a half-silvered or one way mirror) without any discreetapertures or individual apertures in the substantially continuous anduninterrupted reflector utilized. Thus, there are no identifiable gapsin the mirror coating through which light from the light assemblytransmits.

Accordingly, the signal indication module 22″ may be purchased as adisplay element assembly or module (including the circuit element andcircuitry, which is/are attached at the rear of the block 24″) andassembled to the mirror reflective element sub-assembly 12″, such as ata mirror assembly facility, and such as via snapping the attachmentelements 26 a″ and 26 b″ together to attach the signal indicating module22″ at the rear of the back plate 20″ and generally at aperture 20 d″ ofback plate 20″. Circuit element 32″ preferably includes an electricalconnector or lead or terminal for electrically connecting the circuitryand light source to electrical power or electrical control at the mirrorassembly when the signal indication module is attached to the back plateand installed at the mirror casing.

Optionally, and as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a back plate 120 mayinclude an attachment element or indicator receiving portion 126 thathas an angled or canted or slanted surface for receiving or supporting asignal indicating module 122 thereat. The indicator receiving portion126 is integrally formed at the rear of the angled baffle elements 130 aof a light baffle 130 of back plate 120. Thus, the signal indicatingmodule 122 may be mounted to or supported at the canted surface 120 c ofthe light baffle 130, such that the indicating light source or block 124is angled relative to the generally planar backing portion 120 a of backplate 120. Back plate 120 may also include a mounting portion 120 b formounting or attaching the back plate 120 to a mirror actuator (notshown), such as described above.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 11 and 12, the signal indicatingmodule 122 includes a transparent or translucent indicating light sourceor glow block 124 (such as similar to block 24 described above) and alight source 128 at the rear of indicating light source or block 124.The light source 128 is preferably a power LED, such as of the typesdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/054,633, filed Jan. 22,2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,381, which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety. Illumination emitted by the power LED isdirected through indicating light source or block 124 (which may havereflecting rear and side surfaces as described above) and is transmittedthrough slots 130 b of light baffle 130, and is shaded or shielded fromview from another angle via baffle elements 130 a, such as in a similarmanner as described above. Because the signal indicating module 122 andback plate 120 may be otherwise substantially similar to the signalindicating module 22 and back plate 20 described above, a detaileddiscussion of the modules and back plates need not be repeated herein.Because the block comprises a translucent diffusing block, theillumination emitted by the power LED is transmitted through the block(and preferably reflected off of the sides and rear of the block asdescribed above) such that the light emanating from the block is viewedas a substantially uniform glow and not as a point source of light.

In the illustrated embodiment, the slots 130 b and baffle elements 130 aare angled through indicator mounting portion 126 and are generallynormal to block 124. As can be seen in FIG. 11, the slots and baffleelements are angled outward and away from the host vehicle and away fromthe driver of the host vehicle. The light source 128 is located at block124 (such as at a circuit element or board or the like), which is at ornear the end of the slots 130 b so that light emitted by light source128 is emitted through slots 130 b and away from the view of the driverof the host vehicle sitting in the vehicle cabin. The angle of the rearsurface and/or the slots and baffle elements may be selected to providethe desired angle of the light path as the light exits the indicatorreceiving portion, depending on the particular application of the signalindicating module and reflective element sub-assembly. The light bafflemay be established to provide the desired indicator form or shape, suchas a chevron shape or arrowhead shape or other suitable shape or form,and may be readily viewable and discernible and recognizable when thelight source is activated. Because the back plate 120 and indicatorreceiving portion 126 of back plate 120 are substantially opaque, theslots and block and light source are not readily viewable anddiscernible when the light source is deactivated. Optionally, thesurfaces of the baffle elements 130 a (such as the surfaces facingpartially toward the reflective element when the back plate is attachedto the rear of the reflective element) may be textured or stippled todiffuse or absorb light so as to reduce visibility of the baffleelements to a person viewing the reflective element when the signalindicating module is deactivated.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 13, a mirror reflectorsub-assembly 112 may comprise back plate 120, a signal indicating module122′ and an electro-optic (such as electrochromic) reflective element118. Back plate 120 is substantially similar to the back plate of FIGS.11 and 12, and receives or supports signal indicating module 122′ at theangled or canted surface 120 c of the back plate 120 at the rear of thelight baffle 130. In the illustrated embodiment, signal indicatingmodule 122′ includes a indicating light source or block 124′ and anillumination source 128′, which may comprise a power LED or the like. Asshown in FIG. 13, illumination source 128′ may be located at or in (suchas recessed in) a side portion or surface 124 c′ of indicating lightsource or block 124′. The rear surface 124 a′ and side surfaces 124 c′of indicating light source or block 124′ may be coated or painted so asto have reflective surfaces, such as described above. Thus, the lightemitted by the light source 128′ at the side of the indicating lightsource or block 124′ is reflected off of the side and rear surfaces ofthe block and is transmitted through the block and through and along theslots 130 b of light baffle 130 and through the reflective element 118.

In the illustrated embodiment, reflective element 118 comprises anelectrochromic reflective element having a front substrate 140, a rearsubstrate 142 and an electrochromic medium 143 (such as a solid polymermatrix electrochromic medium or the like) sandwiched therebetween andsealed via a perimeter seal 144. Front substrate 140 has a transparentconductor coating 146 (such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) coating orlayer) disposed at its rear surface 140 a, while rear substrate 142 hasa transflector coating 148 (such as a non-dichroic transflector, such asan ITO/Ag/ITO stack of layers or coatings or the like) disposed at itsfront surface 142 a. Optionally, the reflective element may include aperimetal metallic reflector band 150 (such as chromium or othersuitable material), such as by utilizing aspects of the reflectiveelements described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/528,269, filedMar. 17, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,274,501; Ser. No. 10/533,762, filedMay 4, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,190; Ser. No. 11/021,065, filedDec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451; and/or Ser. No. 11/226,628,filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No.US-2006-0061008, which are all hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties. In the illustrated embodiment, the metallicreflector band 150 is disposed at the rear surface 140 a of frontsubstrate 140, with the transparent conductor coating 146 overlappingthe band 150 at the perimeter regions of the reflective element, but thereflector band may otherwise be disposed over the transparent conductor,depending on the particular or selected or desired tint or appearance ofthe metallic perimeter band.

Mirror reflector sub-assembly 112 also includes a heater pad 138disposed between back plate 120 and the rear surface 142 b of rearsubstrate 142. As shown in FIG. 13, heater pad 138 has an aperture 138 aformed therethrough that generally corresponds with the light baffle 130of back plate 120 when the heater element is attached or adhered to theback plate. Optionally, and desirably, an opacifying element or layer orcoating or film 152 (such as black or dark color, such as dark blue ordark grey, paint or ink or film or coating or tape or lacquer or thelike, and preferably a dark, light-absorbing layer that is printed orscreened onto the fourth or rear surface of the electrochromicreflective element or cell) may be disposed between heater element 138and rear surface 142 b of rear substrate 142. The dark or opacifyinglayer may be established via any suitable establishing methods or means,such as painting, printing, ink jet printing, pad printing, screening orthe like.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 14, the reflective element 118′may include an anti-reflection layer or layers 154 disposed at the frontsurface 140 b of front substrate 140 to reduce reflection of lightincident on the reflective element. The anti-reflection layer/layers 154may be deposited at the front surface of the front substrate during apyrolytic deposition process. For example, the anti-reflection layer(such as an OPTIVIEW™ layer such as commercially available fromPilkington) may be deposited pyrolytically in a glass manufacturingplant where the anti-reflection layer may be formed by deposition ontothe glass surface at the glass float-line itself when the glass ribbonis first being formed from the molten glass raw materials (where thered-hot molten glass exiting the glass furnace is floated onto a tinbath and where the coating materials or gasses or precursors are blownonto the red hot glass ribbon prior to it cooling to form the glasssheet, i.e., while the glass exits the tin bath and while it is still ina very hot condition to form the anti-reflection coatings on the glasssurface by pyrolytic chemical reaction of the gaseous precursors as theyare incident on the red-hot glass surface). It is envisioned that theconductive coating may also or otherwise be disposed or deposited at thesurface of the glass via a pyrolytic deposition process, such as byutilizing aspects described in PCT Application No. PCT/US2006/018567,filed May 15, 2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 as InternationalPublication No. WO 2006/124682, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. Because the other components or elements ofmirror reflective element 118′ and mirror reflector sub-assembly 112′may be substantially similar to those of reflective element 118 andsub-assembly 112, discussed above, a detailed discussion of thereflective elements and sub-assemblies need not be repeated herein. Thesimilar or common elements of the reflective elements and sub-assembliesare shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 with like reference numbers.

Although it is known to dispose an anti-reflection coating or layer at afirst surface of a reflective element (such as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,076,674, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety), such coatings have not to date achieved commercial successdue to the costs associated with such coatings. The prior concerns canbe overcome utilizing a glass substrate or sheet that is coated with adurable and preferably bendable and most desirably temperableanti-reflective means. Preferably, such material is depositedpyrolytically in a glass manufacturing plant and as the glass ribbonbeing formed (and while still a red hot glass ribbon) is exiting thefloat bath (typically floating on molten tin). The bendability andtemperability of the coated glass so formed via an in-float pyrolyticdeposition process when the flat glass sheet is itself being made at theglass sheet manufacturing plant also allows the glass to be purchased inflat glass sheets and formed or cut and bent at a later time, such as bythe mirror manufacturer.

Such pyrolytically coated glass provides a durable, bendable andtemperable substrate that provides reduced reflectance of light incidentthereon when the so-coated surface is used as the first surface in an ECmirror cell construction. For example, such coated glass preferablytransmits at least 90 percent of visible light and has a first surfacereflectance of less than 2 percent, more preferably less than 1 percentand more preferably less than 0.75 percent (broadly across the visiblelight spectrum). Such pyrolytic deposited coatings and coated substratesprovide durable, bendable and temperable anti-reflection means, andpreferably also have a low ultraviolet (UV) light transmission. Forexample, such coated glass may typically pass less than about 1 percentof solar UV energy therethrough (by comparison, clear float glasstypically passes about 62 percent of solar UV energy therethrough).

Because the coated glass is durable, bendable and temperable, the mirrorreflector manufacturer may purchase the coated glass in flat sheets andmay cut and/or form and/or bend and/or temper the glass to make thedesired or appropriately shaped mirror substrates or shapes. Also,because the coated glass provides a reduced reflectance at the firstsurface of the reflective element, a reflectance of light incident onthe mirror reflective element of only about 4 to 5 percent (as measuredin accordance with SAE J964a, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety) can be achieved when the electrochromicmirror is dimmed to its maximum level (according to the applied voltagefor the particular unit, typically about 1.2 to 1.4 volts and typicallyabout 1.25 volts, when applied to the conductive coatings of thesubstrates of the reflective element). By comparison, typical interiorand exterior rearview mirrors may dim to a minimum reflectance of lightincident thereon that is at about 5 to 8 percent when the electrochromicmirror is dimmed to its maximum level. Optionally, the anti-reflectioncoating or layer may be disposed at the first or front surface of thereflective element utilizing aspects of the reflective elementsdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,674, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Thus, the mirror reflective element of the present invention may providea reduced reflectivity at the reflective element when the electro-opticreflective element is at its maximum dimming state. The mirrorreflective element may be configured to provide the desired reflectivityat the maximum dimmed state (such as a photopic reflectance of lightincident thereon of at least about 4 percent and at most about 5percent), and the optical characteristics or properties may be selectedor configured to attain the desired range of reflectivity. For example,the first surface anti-reflectivity coating (such as properties thereof)may be selected or adjusted, and/or the thickness of the transparentconductor coating (such as ITO) may be selected or adjusted, and/or thereflectivity of the third surface transflector coating may be selectedor adjusted, and/or the type or thickness of the electrochromic mediumitself may be selected or adjusted to adjust or reduce the reflectivityof the mirror to the desired range when the mirror reflector is at itsfully dimmed state. For example, if a mirror reflective element providesabout 3 percent reflectance of light incident thereon, the mirrormanufacturer may reduce the thickness of the electrochromic medium toincrease the reflectance to about 4 percent or more, while keeping thereflectance at or below 5 percent of light incident thereon.

Optionally, the back plate may have two or more indicator displayelements or modules mounted thereto, such as in a similar manner asdescribed above. For example, a light baffle may be formed at anoutboard portion of the back plate (away from the vehicle when themirror assembly is mounted at the side of the vehicle) and may have thebaffle elements angled so as to direct the light or glow from the blockgenerally outwardly so as to not be readily viewable by the driver ofthe vehicle and, thus, to provide a turn signal indicator at theexterior mirror assembly, while another light baffle may be formed at aninboard portion of the back plate (toward the vehicle when the mirrorassembly is mounted at the side of the vehicle) and may have the baffleelements angled so as to direct the light or glow from the blockgenerally inwardly so as to be readily viewable by the driver of thevehicle and, thus, to provide a blind spot alert or indicator for a sideobject detection system or blind spot detection system or lane changeassist system or the like. The indicators or display modules may besubstantially similar to those described above, or may utilize aspectsof the indicator modules described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859, and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 16, 2006 and published Nov.23, 2006 as International Publication No. WO 2006/124682, and/or U.S.provisional application Ser. No. 60/857,025, filed Nov. 6, 2006, whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

For example, and with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, a back plate 220 mayinclude a turn signal indicator mounting portion 226 a (such as at anoutboard portion or region of the back plate) and a blind spot indicatormounting portion 226 b (such as at an inboard portion or region of theback plate). In the illustrated embodiment, the turn signal indicatormounting portion 226 a and signal indicating module 222 a may be similarto mounting portion 126 and module 122 described above with respect toFIG. 11, and may include a translucent block or indicating light sourceor element 224 and illumination source 228 a at a rear portion of themounting portion 226 a and generally at a light baffle 230 of back plate220. Optionally, the blind spot indicator or alert module or element 222b at mounting portion 226 b may utilize aspects of the indicator modulesand mounting portions described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Briefly, such amounting portion 226 b may comprise a hollow tube 227 integrally formedwith and extending from the rear of the back plate 220, and with apassageway extending therethrough or therealong, whereby the indicatormodule 222 b is mounted at the rearward portion of the hollow tube 227.The indicator module 222 b includes an illumination source or LED 228 bthat is operable to emit light into and along and through the passagewayof the hollow tube 227 and toward and through the reflective element 218(FIG. 16) for viewing by the driver of the vehicle. Back plate 220 alsoincludes an actuator mounting portion 220 b for attaching the back plateand reflective element to a mirror actuator for providing adjustment ofthe reflective element by the driver of the vehicle.

The reflective element 218 may comprise any type of reflective element,preferably a transflective or display on demand type reflective elementsuch as described above. In the illustrated embodiment, reflectiveelement 218 comprises a transflective electrochromic reflective elementhaving a first or front substrate 240 and a second or rear substrate 242with an electrochromic medium 243 sandwiched therebetween and sealedwith a perimeter seal 244. The front substrate 240 includes atransparent conductor coating 246 at its rear surface and may include aperimeter metallic band 250 at the perimeter of the rear surface, suchas described above. The rear substrate 242 includes a transflectivecoating or a metal oxide/metal/metal oxide stack (with at least one ofthe metal oxide layers comprising a conducting or semiconducting layer),such as an IMI stack of coatings or layers 248, at its front surface.The back plate 220 is adhered or attached at the rear surface of therear substrate, and the mirror reflective element sub-assembly 212 mayinclude a heater element 238 and an opacifying element or layer orcoating or film 252 disposed between the back plate and rear substrate.As can be seen in FIG. 16, the heater element 238 and opacifying layer252 include apertures therethrough at the location of the light baffle230 and the passageway of the indicator mounting portion 226 b of theback plate 220, so that light emanating from the signal indicatingmodules 222 a, 222 b is transmitted through the apertures in the heaterelement and opacifying layer and through the reflective element forviewing by a person viewing the reflective element at the appropriateangle.

Thus, the blind spot indicator mounting portion 226 b may be angled soas to direct the light toward the vehicle and toward a driver oroccupant of the host vehicle. More particularly, the light beam emittedfrom the blind spot signal indicating module 222 b and transmittedthrough the reflective element is angled so as to have its principlebeam axis directed generally toward the eyes of a driver seated in theinterior cabin of the host vehicle. The indicator mounting portion thusmay extend from the rear of the back plate at an acute angle (such asapproximately about 25 to about 30 degrees or thereabouts) relative tothe plane defined by the back plate so as to direct or guide lightthrough the passageway and in the desired direction toward the side ofthe equipped/host vehicle for viewing the object/LCA indicationprincipally or solely by the driver of the host vehicle. Should,however, the signal module be a turn signal module, then the indicatormounting portion may extend from the rear of the back plate at an acuteangle (such as approximately about 55 to about 60 degrees orthereabouts) relative to the plane defined by the back plate so as todirect or guide light through the passageway and in the desireddirection away from the side of the equipped/host vehicle for viewingthe turn indication principally or solely by the drivers of overtakingvehicles and principally other than by the driver of the host vehicle.

The indicator may be activated or energized in response to a detectionof an object or other vehicle approaching or adjacent to the hostvehicle in order to alert or warn the driver of the host vehicle not toattempt or initiate a lane change that moves the subject or host vehicleinto the already occupied (or soon to be occupied) side lane or regionadjacent either the driver side or the passenger side of the hostvehicle. The inboard display area may be for displaying or indicating tothe driver of the host vehicle that an object has been detected in theblind spot, while the outboard display area may be for displaying orindicating a turn signal activation to the driver of another vehicle.Optionally, the inboard display area may comprise an industry standardicon, such as an ISO icon (showing icons representing the host vehicleand another vehicle at the side and/or rearward of the host vehicle) orthe like, to indicate to the driver of the host vehicle that anothervehicle has been detected at the side and/or rearward of the hostvehicle. The iconistic display may be established at the reflectiveelement, such as by providing indicia at the reflective element such asby utilizing aspects of the reflective elements described in PCTApplication No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006 and published Nov.23, 2006 as International Publication No. WO 2006/124682, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Optionally, however, the display area may comprise other forms, such as,for example, a multi-stage indicator having multiple indicating portionsor elements or devices for indicating a degree of hazard or the like ofan object or vehicle detected alongside and/or rearward of the hostvehicle (such as an indicating display of the types described in PCTApplication No. PCT/US2006/026148, filed Jul. 5, 2006 and published Jan.11, 2007 as International Publication No. WO 2007/005942; and U.S.provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/696,953, filed Jul. 6, 2005, andSer. No. 60/784,570, filed Mar. 22, 2006, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties), or other types of indicatingmeans, such as by utilizing aspects of the displays or indicatorsdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,982, issued to Witt; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar.23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008; and/or PCT ApplicationNo. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 asInternational Publication No. WO 2006/124682, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, without affectingthe scope of the present invention.

For example, the icons or pattern that define the display may beestablished at the rear of the rear substrate and between the rearsurface of the rear substrate and the back plate. The icons or patternthat define the display may be established through or defined by thedark layer or opacifying layer so that icons or iconistic portions ofthe dark layer form the icon or icons of the iconistic display area.Optionally, the iconistic portions of the display area may beestablished by etching the dark layer or by a mask or the likepositioned at the rear surface of the substrate during the painting orscreening or coating process that applies the dark layer. Optionally,the iconistic portions of the display area may be established by etchingor masking at a fourth surface conductive busbar or coating (such as afourth surface conductive busbar of the types described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,255,451; and/or Ser. No. 11/334,139, filed Jan. 18, 2006, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,400,435; and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No.60/644,903, filed Jan. 19, 2005; and Ser. No. 60/667,049, filed Mar. 31,2005, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties). Optionally, the icons or pattern may be established viacutouts or holes or patterns or indicia portions formed in and throughor partially through a heater pad (that may be attached to or adhered tothe dark or opacifying layer at the rear surface of the reflectiveelement, as discussed below), with the dark layer having an opening oraperture formed therethrough and generally corresponding with theindicia portions of the heater pad when the heater pad is adhered to thedark layer at the rear surface of the reflective element.

As described in U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/696,953,incorporated above, the present invention provides a blind spotindicator or lane change assist (LCA) indicator that is fixedly locatedat the mirror shell or casing and/or at a support arm of an exteriorrearview mirror assembly, so as not to move or adjust when the mirrorreflective element is moved or adjusted to set its field of view.Preferably, the blind spot indicator is fixedly located at the inboardwall or portion of the mirror shell or casing, so as to be readilyviewed by the driver of the host vehicle, while being substantiallynon-visible or non-viewable by a driver of another vehicle. The blindspot/LCA indicator is preferably located at an angled, outwardlyextending rearward portion of the mirror assembly that is angled so asto slope or extend at an angle away from the body side of the vehicle,so that the blind spot/LCA indicator is generally facing the driver ofthe host vehicle and is readily viewable by the driver of the hostvehicle and substantially non-visible or non-viewable by a driver ofanother vehicle at or approaching the host vehicle.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an exterior rearviewmirror assembly for a vehicle includes a reflective element, a mirrorshell or casing and a blind spot indicator. The shell or casing has aninboard portion that is inboard of the reflective element relative tothe position of the reflective element with respect to the body side ofthe vehicle when the exterior mirror assembly is mounted thereto, andthus is between the reflective element and the body side of the vehicleto which the mirror assembly is attached. The blind spot indicator islocated at and oriented at the inboard portion of the mirror shell orcasing so as to be viewable by the driver of the vehicle and so as to besubstantially to totally non-viewable by the drivers of other vehiculartraffic, such as other vehicular traffic rearward of, sideward of,approaching, overtaking, forward of or otherwise at or near the hostvehicle.

The inboard portion of the mirror shell or casing (which at least inpart defines a cavity within which the mirror reflective element isdisposed and within which the mirror reflective element is adjustable)may comprise an inboard wall of the mirror shell or casing. Typically,the exterior mirror assembly comprises a stalk or support arm or memberof the mirror assembly that extends from the side of the vehicle towhere the mirror shell is disposed.

The blind spot indicator may include a light source or illuminationsource (such as one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) or the like),and may include a lens or other optic or light directing/guiding deviceor element or means or a light channel, conduit or means, or a lightbaffle or means, or a light louver or blind or means, or a lightdirecting element or means, preferably at the mirror shell or casing(and substantially disposed therein so as not to overly protrude tocreate aerodynamic drag and so as to provide an aesthetically pleasingexterior appearance) for directing the light emitted by the light sourcetoward the driver for viewing by the driver of the host vehicle and, ifrequired, for limiting or restricting viewing by drivers of othervehicles.

Thus, the present invention provides an exterior rearview mirrorassembly for a vehicle that includes a mirror shell portion and a blindspot or lane change assist (LCA) indicator. A cavity of the mirror shellportion is formed or defined at least partially by the walls of theshell portion. A variety of suitable mirror shells are known in theexterior mirror assembly art, such as skull-cap mirror shells (such asdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,612,708; 6,447,130 and 6,310,738),uni-body mirror shells, and the like. A reflective element is disposedwithin the cavity, along with any accessories or displays and associatedadjustment device or actuator associated with the reflective element ormirror assembly. The mirror shell consists of an inner or inboard wallor side or portion that, when the mirror assembly is mounted at the sideof the vehicle, preferably proximate to or at the driver or passengerside front door and proximate to or at the join of the door to the frontportion of the vehicle body side (often referred to as the A-pillarregion of the vehicle), the inner wall portion is at or near to thevehicle side body and readily viewable by the driver of the hostvehicle. The mirror shell also includes an outer or outboard side orwall or portion that is further from the side of the vehicle and outwardor outboard from the inner or inboard wall or portion. The mirrorreflective element is disposed within the mirror shell and between theinner wall or portion or side and the outer wall or portion or side ofthe mirror shell. The blind spot or LCA indicator is located at theinboard or inner wall or side or portion of the mirror shell and, thus,is readily viewable by the driver of the host vehicle.

The mirror assembly is mounted to the body side of the vehicle (such asto a front door portion or to a vehicle body portion, depending on theparticular application of the mirror assembly). The mounting portion ofthe mirror assembly often includes a stalk or mounting arm or member orsupport arm or member that extends from the mounting area of the vehiclebody side to where the mirror shell is disposed. The mounting arm mayextend from the vehicle body side by about an inch or more, and oftenabout two to three inches or thereabouts, depending on the styling, typeor size of the vehicle and associated exterior mirror assembly.

Note that, the inner portion of the driver side mirror assembly is mostreadily visible/viewable to the driver of the vehicle, as compared tothe inner portion of the passenger side mirror assembly. The blindspot/LCA indicator of the present invention is thus highly suited forapplications where the blind spot indicator is on the driver side only.However, it is envisioned that a blind spot/LCA indicator of the presentinvention may also or otherwise be located at the inner or inboardportion or wall or side of the passenger side exterior rearview mirrorassembly, without affecting the scope of the present invention.

Therefore, the present invention provides a blind spot indicator at aninboard wall or portion of an exterior rearview mirror assembly. Theblind spot indicator is located at an inboard wall or portion of themirror casing or shell or at an inboard support arm or the like of themirror assembly and, thus, is readily viewable by the driver of the hostvehicle, and without the driver having to look across to the outboarddimension of the mirror reflective element to see or notice actuation orillumination of the blind spot indicator. The blind spot indicator thusmay be readily viewable by the driver and may be so viewable without thedriver having to look at the reflective element of the exterior mirrorto see the blind spot indicator. Also, because the blind spot indicatoris located at the inboard portion of the mirror assembly, the blind spotindicator is viewable principally or solely by the driver of the hostvehicle, and is not readily viewable or visible to a driver of anothervehicle. Because the blind spot indicator is not located at a primaryviewing area, the curb-side appeal or appearance of the vehicle is notadversely impacted by the choice and styling of the blind spotindicator. Also, because the blind spot indicator of the presentinvention is not located behind a window in the reflective element, orbehind a transflective portion of the reflective element, the blind spotindicator may be fixedly placed and may provide a low cost indicatorthat may be readily incorporated into an exterior rearview mirrorassembly of a vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 26, an exterior rearview mirror assembly 810 for avehicle includes a reflective element 812 and a mirror shell or casing814. Mirror assembly 810 is mounted at the side 816 a of a host orsubject vehicle 816, and includes a blind spot indicator 818 at aninboard portion 820 of mirror assembly 810. The blind spot indicator 818is operable by illumination to indicate to the driver of the subject orhost vehicle that an object or other vehicle is detected at the side orblind spot region of the host vehicle by a blind spot detection system,as discussed below. The indicator may be activated or energized inresponse to a detection of an object or other vehicle approaching oradjacent to the host vehicle in order to alert or warn the driver of thehost vehicle not to attempt or initiate a lane change that moves thesubject or host vehicle into the already occupied (or soon to beoccupied) side lane or region adjacent either the driver side or thepassenger side of the host vehicle.

Mirror assembly 810 is connected at the side 816 a of vehicle 816 andincludes a mounting arm or stem 822 or the like, which is mounted to orextends from the side 816 a of vehicle 816. In the illustratedembodiment of FIG. 26, the inboard portion 820 of mirror assembly 810comprises the inboard wall or side of the mirror shell or casing 814.The inboard portion or wall is at the inboard side of the mirrorassembly and generally faces the side 816 a of the vehicle 816. As canbe seen in FIG. 26, the inboard portion 820 is spaced from and oppositefrom an outboard portion or side 824 of the mirror assembly 810.

Typically, side exterior rearview mirror assemblies for vehicles extendfrom the side of the vehicle and are angled to reduce aerodynamic dragand to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Thus, the inboardportion of the exterior rearview mirror may be angled outwardly from thevehicle and thus slopes away from vehicle and provides a surface atwhich to mount/install the blind spot indicator, whereby the blind spotindicator is generally facing the driver of the host vehicle while beinggenerally or substantially or entirely hidden from the view of driversof other vehicles encountered by the host vehicle. Also, because theindicator is located at the inboard portion of the mirror shell orcasing, the indicator may be selected to be substantially large, sincethe size of the indicator is not constrained by the field of viewregulations of the mirror reflective element. The blind spot indicatorof the present invention thus may be located at the mirror inboard wallor portion or side, which is contoured so that the wall or surfaceslopes away from the body side of the vehicle. By positioning theindicator at this location, the presence of the indicator at the inboardor inner wall or side of the exterior mirror is substantially or totallyobscured from the view of drivers of trailing or side overtakingvehicles by the very body and structure of the exterior mirror. Also,because of the natural aerodynamic styling and structure of the inboardwall portion or section, operation of the blind spot indicator issubstantially or totally non-viewable by the drivers of leading vehicles(traveling in front of the host vehicle) or vehicles approaching thehost vehicle from in front of the host vehicle.

Blind spot/LCA indicator 818 may include an illumination or light source(such as one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) or organic lightemitting diodes (OLEDs) or the like that is/are energized to direct oremit illumination toward the driver of the host vehicle. Theillumination source may be positioned within or behind the inboard wallor portion of the mirror assembly and the indicator may include aniconistic display area (such as transparent or substantially transparentor translucent windows or apertures formed or established at the inboardwall so that the illumination passes through the windows for viewing anddiscerning by the driver of the host vehicle). The iconistic display maybe established or formed at a lens or element that attaches to the shellor casing or may be formed or established at the shell or casing wallitself. The indicator may include baffles or light piping or tubing orelectroluminescent foil or other light direction means or occludingmeans, such as louvers or shutters or filters or light directing film orthe like for directing or guiding the illumination from the illuminationsource at the desired angle and through the inboard wall or portion soas to be principally or solely viewable by the driver of the hostvehicle. Because the blind spot indicator is located at an area orregion that is not readily viewable by a person outside of the vehiclecabin, the indicator may be located at the surface of the inboard wallor portion (and may protrude partially therefrom), and need not berecessed within the casing surface, without adversely affecting theappearance of the exterior mirror assembly. The location and degree ofrecess or inset of the blind spot indicator may be selected depending onthe particular application of the blind spot indicator and on thelocation of any internal mirror content (such as an actuator, securitylight or other indicators or accessories or the like) located within themirror shell.

As shown in FIG. 26, blind spot indicator 818 may comprise an ISO icon(showing icons representing the host vehicle and another vehicle at theside and/or rearward of the host vehicle) to indicate to the driver ofthe host vehicle that another vehicle has been detected at the sideand/or rearward of the host vehicle. The iconistic representation may beformed as a translucent window or portion of the inboard wall or portionor may be otherwise established at the inboard wall or portion of themirror assembly. Optionally, however, the indicator may comprise otherforms, without affecting the scope of the present invention. Forexample, and with reference to FIG. 27, a blind spot indicator or LCAindicator 818′ of an exterior mirror assembly 810′ may comprise amulti-stage indicator having multiple indicating portions or elements ordevices for indicating a degree of hazard or the like of an object orvehicle detected alongside and/or rearward of the host vehicle. Theindicating portions or elements or devices may comprise different colorindicators, such as green, amber and red or the like, to indicate thedegree of hazard detected. Such an indicator is suitable for use with alane change assist (LCA) system, and may provide a green indication whenthe adjacent side lane is clear, an amber indication when a vehicleapproaches the side lane area, and a red indication when another vehicleis occupying the side lane area adjacent to the host vehicle. As shownin FIG. 27, the blind spot indicator or LCA indicator 818′ may bepositioned at a lower region of the inboard portion 820′ of the mirrorassembly 810′, or (and as shown in FIG. 27A), the blind spot indicator818″ may be positioned at an upper region of the inboard portion 20″ ofthe mirror assembly 810″ (where the indicator may be more readilyvisible/viewable to the driver of the host vehicle). Optionally, forexample, and with reference to FIG. 28, a blind spot indicator 818′″ ofan exterior rearview mirror assembly 810′″ may comprise a hazardindicator or the like at the inboard portion 820′″ to provide a hazardindication or warning or alert signal to the driver of the host vehiclewhen an object or vehicle is detected at the side and/or rearward of thehost vehicle, and when the driver of the host vehicle is attempting alane change or the like (such as when the driver activates the turnsignal of the host vehicle). Other iconistic images or indicia or thelike may be used for the blind spot/LCA indicator, without affecting thescope of the present invention.

As can be seen in FIGS. 29 and 30, the blind spot indicator of thepresent invention is not readily viewable or discernible by a driver ofa vehicle approaching the host vehicle from the rear of the host vehicle(as shown in FIG. 29) or a driver of a vehicle approaching andovertaking the host vehicle along a side of the host vehicle (as shownin FIG. 30). Although not shown, the blind spot indicator is alsosubstantially not viewable by or visible to a driver of a vehicle aheadof or leading the host vehicle. The blind spot indicator of the presentinvention thus may be sufficiently large to enhance viewability anddiscernibility of the indicator by the driver of the host vehicle,without detracting from the appearance of the mirror assembly andwithout being readily viewable/discernible by the driver of anothervehicle, thereby limiting or substantially precluding confusion (to thedriver of the other vehicle) between a turn signal indicator (not shown)of the mirror assembly and the blind spot indicator.

Although shown in FIGS. 26-30 and described above as being located at adriver side exterior mirror, the blind spot/LCA indicator of the presentinvention may also or otherwise be located at the passenger sideexterior mirror, if desired. Optionally, the blind spot indicator of thepresent invention may be located at both the driver side mirror assemblyand the passenger side mirror assembly of the host vehicle. Theindicator at either side may be selectively activated or illuminated toindicate to the driver of the host vehicle that an object or othervehicle has been detected at that particular side lane region of thehost vehicle. Optionally, the blind spot indicator may be associatedwith a blind spot detection and indication system that includes one ormore indicators at the interior rearview mirror assembly of the hostvehicle. For example, and with reference to FIG. 31, a blind spotindicator 918 a may be located at an inboard portion or wall 920 a of adriver side exterior rearview mirror assembly 910 a, while a blind spotindicator 918 b may be located at an inboard portion or wall 920 b of apassenger side exterior rearview mirror assembly 910 b. Also, aninterior rearview mirror assembly 930 may include one or more indicators919 a, 919 b that provide further indication to the driver of the hostvehicle of a detection of an object or other vehicle at either sideand/or rearward of the host vehicle, so that the driver of the hostvehicle has a cognitive association of the indicators. The blind spotindicators may provide a redundant indication at both the interior andexterior mirrors in order to assist the driver in recognizing theconditions surrounding the host vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects ofthe blind spot detection system described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,198,409;5,929,786 and 5,786,772.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 32, an exterior rearview mirrorassembly 1010 may include a reflective element 1012 and a mirror casingor shell 1014 supported on a mounting arm 1032 that is mounted to and/orthat extends from the side 1016 a of the host vehicle 1016. The blindspot indicator 1018 may be located at an inboard portion 1020 of thecasing 1014, such as at a support arm or portion or stem 1032 of thecasing which mounts to the mounting arm 1022. In the illustratedembodiment, the casing 1014 is pivotally mounted to the mounting arm1022, such as for a powerfold exterior mirror or a breakaway exteriormirror or the like. The inboard portion 1020 thus may be positionedalong the support arm and/or mounting portion (and preferably along asurface that is angled outwardly with respect to the vehicle side) so asto be directed generally toward the driver of the host vehicle and notreadily viewable by drivers of other vehicles at or near the hostvehicle.

As shown in FIG. 32, the indicator 1018 may comprise an ISO indicatorwith the iconistic representation of the host vehicle and adjacent orapproaching vehicle, such as described above with respect to FIG. 25.Optionally, and such as described above with respect to FIGS. 26 and 27,the blind spot indicator may comprise a multi-stage indicator 1018′(FIG. 33) or a hazard indicator 1018″ (FIG. 34) at the support arm orstem of the mirror assembly.

Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 35, the blind spot indicator 1118 (suchas a multi-stage indicator or other type of indicator) may be located atthe inboard wall 1120 of the mirror casing 1114 of an exterior mirrorassembly 1110 and generally at or rearward of the support arm or stem1132 (which mounts to a mounting arm or portion 1122 at the vehicle) ofthe casing 1114 (where the indicator is rearward of the support arm andthus facing generally rearwardly with respect to the forward directionof travel of the vehicle, and preferably on an outwardly angled portionso as to be facing partially inward toward the driver of the vehicle).The indicator thus is readily viewable by the driver of the host vehicleat the mirror casing and rearward of the support arm or stem of themirror assembly. As shown in FIG. 36, the blind spot indicator 1118′ maybe located at the inboard portion 1120′ of the casing 1114′ of anexterior mirror assembly 1110′ and generally above the support arm orstem 1132′ (which mounts to the mounting arm or portion 1122′), ifdesired. The particular location of the blind spot indicator may beselected depending on the geometries and content of the mirror assemblyand support arm and mounting portion of the mirror assembly and on thevehicle door design and/or the vehicle A-pillar design, so as to provideenhanced viewability and discernibility of the blind spot indicator tothe driver of the host vehicle. As shown in FIGS. 37A and 37B, a blindspot indicator 1118 a″ may be located at the inboard portion 1120 a″ ofthe casing 1114 a″ of a driver side exterior mirror assembly 1110 a″,while a blind spot indicator 1118 b″ may be located at the inboardportion 1120 b″ of the casing 1114 b″ of a passenger side exteriorrearview mirror assembly 1110 b″, so that the indicators 1118 a″, 1118b″ are readily viewable and discernible by the driver of the hostvehicle while being substantially non-viewable to drivers of othervehicles at or near or trailing or approaching or overtaking or leadingthe host vehicle.

Optionally, the blind spot indicator or LCA indicator of the presentinvention may be provided as an indicator module that is a unitarymodule including an illumination source, electrical connectors and coverand/or light directing or guiding elements or means. The unitaryindicator module is preferably sealed so as to be substantiallyimpervious to water so as to provide a robust module that can withstandthe exposure to the elements at the exterior rearview mirror assembly.The mirror assembly may be formed with a cavity or opening for receivingor attaching the unitary indicator module therein or thereat, and mayinclude the electrical connectors at the cavity or opening for makingthe appropriate electrical connections to the indicator module.Optionally, the electrical connections may be made while the indicatormodule is attached to the mirror assembly, such as via a plug and sockettype arrangement or configuration, and such as by utilizing aspects ofthe mirror assembly described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,267. The unitaryindicator module may include or utilize aspects of various light modulesor systems or devices, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos.6,227,689; 6,582,109; 5,371,659; 5,497,306; 5,669,699; 5,823,654;6,176,602 and/or 6,276,821.

The unitary indicator module thus may be readily installed at anexterior mirror assembly to provide the blind spot/LCA indicator at theinboard wall or portion of the exterior mirror. The blind spot detectionsystem (and thus the blind spot indicator) thus may be selected by acustomer as an option for their vehicle. Optionally, the exterior mirrorassembly may be shipped to a vehicle assembly plant with the modulealready installed, or the exterior mirror assembly may be shipped to thevehicle assembly plant with a socket or structure for receiving ormounting or attaching the indicator module. The indicator module may beconnected or plugged in or otherwise attached to the mirror assembly atthe socket or structure at the vehicle assembly plant. The indicatormodule may make both the mechanical and electrical connections to themirror assembly when attached thereto, such as by utilizing aspectsdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,267. The indicator module thus may beinstalled at the appropriate mirror assembly (such as for a vehicle thathas the blind spot indicator selected as an option) at the vehicleassembly plant, while a blank out panel or the like may be attached tothe mirror assembly for vehicles that do not have the blind spotindicator option selected. Because the blind spot indicator andassociated electronics may be costly, the indicator module allows theindicator to be added to the exterior mirror only for those vehicleswith the indicator option selected, and without affecting the mirrorassembly structure and design, so that a common mirror shell may beutilized for a standard mirror and for a mirror with the indicatoroption selected, thereby deproliferating parts and providing economiesof scale for the mirror assemblies.

The blind spot indicator of the present invention thus is positioned atthe inboard portion of the exterior mirror and thus is positioned at anarea that is readily viewable by the driver of the host vehicle. Becausean exterior rearview mirror for a vehicle is formed to be angled foraerodynamic and aesthetic purposes, the exterior rearview mirrortypically has an inboard portion or wall that is contoured or formed tobe sloping outwardly and away from the vehicle, so as to provide a wallthat is generally facing toward the driver of the vehicle so that theportion is readily viewable by the driver of the vehicle. This outwardlysloping portion or wall provides a location for the blind spot/LCAindicator of the present invention, where the indicator is readilyviewable by the driver of the host vehicle, but is substantially hiddenfrom the view of drivers of other vehicles at or near the host vehicle.Since the inboard wall or side or portion is not a primary viewing area,the blind spot indicator may be located at this portion withoutadversely affecting the styling lines and appearance of the mirrorassembly. Optionally, a cowling or cover element or dome element orbaffle or louver or the like may be provided at the mirror shell orsupport arm to further restrict the view of the indicator by drivers ofother vehicles.

Typically, the mirror reflective element is recessed slightly within thecavity of the mirror shell, and it is not uncommon to have water beads,dirt, ice and the like build up in that area, since that area issheltered from and is not directly exposed to the wind or slip stream asthe vehicle travels along the road. By placing the indicator at theinboard wall or portion of the exterior mirror, the indicator is locatedin the slip stream and thus is exposed to the wind as the vehicletravels along the road. The blind spot indicator thus may be morevisible to the driver of the host vehicle, since ice buildup and/ordebris build up is less likely in this area and since any water or iceor dirt or other debris or contaminants are often blown away from wherethe indicator is located, thus enhancing its visibility to the driver.Also, because the blind spot indicator is closer to the window (throughwhich the driver views the indicator), the indicator is more readilyviewable in fog or hazy conditions or other extreme weather conditions,such as during a snow storm or rain storm or the like, even if thedriver cannot readily view the mirror reflective element of the exteriormirror.

The blind spot indicator thus is positioned at a location that is closerthan conventional or known external indicators (which are typicallylocated at the outboard upper corner of the reflective element) may beseen and discerned by the driver of the host vehicle even when thedriver is not viewing the reflective element of the exterior rearviewmirror. Because the blind spot indicator is located at the side orinboard portion of the mirror assembly or casing, the blind spotindicator may be relatively large (such as compared to indicators at thereflective element) to enhance viewing of the indicator, since the sizeof the indicator is not limited by the viewing requirements at thereflective element. For example, the blind spot indicator of the presentinvention may provide a viewing area dimension of preferably at leastabout one square centimeter, and more preferably at least about twosquare centimeters, and more preferably at least about four squarecentimeters. The size of the blind spot indicator thus may be selectedto provide a desired viewing area, and is less fettered by the designconstraints and regulations of the exterior mirror.

The blind spot indicator thus may be sized to provide the desiredappearance and viewability/discernibility and may be positioned at theinboard portion in a manner that does not interfere with the movableparts of the exterior mirror assembly. Also, by locating the blind spotindicator at the inboard portion of the exterior rearview mirrorassembly, the indicator is naturally occluded by the exterior mirrorfrom the view of the driver of another vehicle or any other personoutside of the host vehicle. The blind spot indicator of the presentinvention thus may be provided at the desired size, shape and location,and thus provides the potential for enhanced flexibility in the designand implementation of the blind spot indicator, since the size, shapeand design of the indicator is not constrained by the regulations andlimitations otherwise applicable at the reflective element of theexterior mirror.

The blind spot indicator preferably is fixedly positioned at the inboardportion of the mirror assembly (such as substantially within the mirrorshell and visible at the inner shell wall adjacent to the driver side orpassenger side front window, depending on whether it is a driver side orpass side mirror). However, it is envisioned that the blind spotindicator may be adjustable (such as via a user input within the vehiclecabin) to direct the indicator toward the particular driver's head area.The indicator may be adjusted by the driver of the host vehicle toenhance viewing of the indicator by the driver. The indicator may beadjusted separately from any adjustment of the reflective element sothat the indicator may be adjusted toward the driver's head area andirrespective of the desired adjustment of the reflective element of theexterior rearview mirror. The indicator and any adjustment or alignmentthereof may utilize aspects of the alignment device described in U.S.Pat. No. 6,598,982.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 38, an exterior rearview mirrorassembly 1210 for a vehicle includes a reflective element 1212 and amirror shell or casing 1214. Mirror assembly 1210 is mounted at the side1216 a of a host or subject vehicle 1216, and includes a blind spotindicator 1218 at an inboard portion or surface 1220 of an outer wall1224 of the mirror casing 1214 of mirror assembly 1210. The blind spotindicator 1218 thus may be located at a cusp or inboard surface of theouter wall 1224 of mirror casing 1214 so as to be readily viewable bythe driver of the host vehicle, while being substantially hidden or notviewable by the driver of another vehicle at or near or approaching thehost vehicle. The blind spot indicator 1218 thus is located at a regionthat is remote from the reflective element of the mirror assembly so asto limit or substantially preclude confusion between the blind spotindicator and any display or indicator (such as a turn signal display orthe like) that is located at the reflective element of the mirrorassembly (and thus that may be intended for viewing by the driver ofanother vehicle).

The blind spot indicator thus is operable to provide an indication tothe driver of the host vehicle that an object or other vehicle has beendetected in the lane or area adjacent to the side of the host vehicle.The blind spot indicator may be operable in association with a blindspot detection system, which may include an imaging sensor or sensors,or ultrasonic sensor or sensors, or sonar sensor or sensors or the like.For example, the blind spot detection system may utilize aspects of theblind spot detection and/or imaging systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos.6,882,287; 6,198,409; 5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772, and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/427,051, filed Apr. 30, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No.7,038,577, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/638,687,filed Dec. 23, 2004; Ser. No. 60/628,709, filed Nov. 17, 2004; Ser. No.60/614,644, filed Sep. 30, 2004; and/or Ser. No. 60/618,686, filed Oct.14, 2004, and/or of the reverse or backup aid systems, such as therearwardly directed vehicle vision systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,550,677; 5,760,962; 5,670,935; 6,201,642; 6,396,397; 6,498,620;6,717,610 and/or 6,757,109, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/418,486, filed Apr. 18, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,974, and/or ofthe automatic headlamp controls described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,094and/or 5,715,093; and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/105,757,filed Apr. 14, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,526,103; and/or U.S.provisional application Ser. No. 60/607,963, filed Sep. 8, 2004, and/orof the rain sensors described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,250,148 and 6,341,523,and/or of other imaging systems, such as the types described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 6,353,392 and 6,313,454, which may utilize various imagingsensors or imaging array sensors or cameras or the like, such as a CMOSimaging array sensor, a CCD sensor or other sensors or the like, such asthe types disclosed in commonly assigned, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677;5,760,962; 6,097,023 and 5,796,094, and U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/441,341, filed Nov. 16, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,339,149, and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2003/036177 filed Nov. 14, 2003, published Jun. 3,2004 as PCT Publication No. WO 2004/047421, with all of the abovereferenced U.S. patents, patent applications and provisionalapplications and PCT applications being commonly assigned.

Optionally, the indicator of the present invention may alert the driverof the host vehicle of other situations or status or the like. Forexample, the indicator could function to alert the driver of the hostvehicle that the brake lights of the host vehicle are functioningproperly. Other applications or uses of the indicator may beimplemented, without affecting the scope of the present invention.

The reflective element of the rearview mirror assembly may comprise anelectro-optic or electrochromic reflective element or cell, such as anelectrochromic mirror assembly and electrochromic reflective elementutilizing principles disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos.6,690,268; 5,140,455; 5,151,816; 6,178,034; 6,154,306; 6,002,544;5,567,360; 5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414; 5,253,109; 5,076,673;5,073,012; 5,117,346; 5,724,187; 5,668,663; 5,910,854; 5,142,407 and/or4,712,879, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/054,633, filedJan. 22, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,381; and/or Ser. No. 11/021,065,filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451, and/or U.S.provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/695,149, filed Jun. 29, 2005; Ser.No. 60/690,400, filed Jun. 14, 2005; Ser. No. 60/681,250, filed May 16,2005; and/or Ser. No. 60/692,113, filed Jun. 20, 2005, and/or asdisclosed in the following publications: N. R. Lynam, “ElectrochromicAutomotive Day/Night Mirrors”, SAE Technical Paper Series 870636 (1987);N. R. Lynam, “Smart Windows for Automobiles”, SAE Technical Paper Series900419 (1990); N. R. Lynam and A. Agrawal, “Automotive Applications ofChromogenic Materials”, Large Area Chromogenics: Materials and Devicesfor Transmittance Control, C. M. Lampert and C. G. Granquist, EDS.,Optical Engineering Press, Wash. (1990). The thicknesses and materialsof the coatings on the substrates of the electrochromic reflectiveelement, such as on the third surface of the reflective elementassembly, may be selected to provide a desired color or tint to themirror reflective element, such as a blue colored reflector, such as isknown in the art and/or such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,854and 6,420,036, and in PCT Application No. PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 9,2003 and published Apr. 1, 2004 as International Publication No. WO2004/026633.

Optionally, use of an elemental semiconductor mirror, such as a siliconmetal mirror, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,286,965; 6,196,688;5,535,056; 5,751,489 and 6,065,840, and/or in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/993,302, filed Nov. 19, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,177,can be advantageous because such elemental semiconductor mirrors (suchas can be formed by depositing a thin film of silicon) can be greaterthan 50 percent reflecting in the photopic (SAE J964a measured), whilebeing also substantially transmitting of light (up to 20 percent or evenmore). Such silicon mirrors also have the advantage of being able to bedeposited onto a flat glass substrate and to be bent into a curved (suchas a convex or aspheric) curvature, which is also advantageous sincemany passenger-side exterior rearview mirrors are bent or curved.

Optionally, the reflective element 12 includes a perimeter metallicband, such as the types described in PCT Application No. PCT/US03/29776,filed Sep. 19, 2003 and published Apr. 1, 2004 as InternationalPublication No. WO 2004/026633; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US03/35381, filed Nov. 5, 2003 and published May 21, 2004 asInternational Publication No. WO 2004/042457; and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,255,451; and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/692,113,filed Jun. 20, 2005; Ser. No. 60/677,990, filed May 5, 2005; Ser. No.60/653,787, filed Feb. 17, 2005; Ser. No. 60/642,227, filed Jan. 7,2005; Ser. No. 60/638,250, filed Dec. 21, 2004; Ser. No. 60/624,091,filed Nov. 1, 2004, and Ser. No. 60/609,642, filed Sep. 14, 2004.Optionally, the reflective element may include indicia formed at andviewable at the reflective element, such as by utilizing aspects of thereflective elements described in U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No.60/695,149, filed Jun. 29, 2005; Ser. No. 60/690,400, filed Jun. 14,2005; and/or Ser. No. 60/681,250, filed May 16, 2005.

Although shown and described as an electro-optic or electrochromicreflective element assembly or cell, the reflective element may comprisea single substrate with a reflective coating at its rear surface,without affecting the scope of the present invention. The mirrorassembly thus may comprise a prismatic mirror assembly or other mirrorhaving a single substrate reflective element, such as a mirror assemblyutilizing aspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,318,870; 6,598,980;5,327,288; 4,948,242; 4,826,289; 4,436,371 and 4,435,042; and PCTApplication No. PCT/US04/015424, filed May 18, 2004 and published Dec.2, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 2004/103772; and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/933,842, filed Sep. 3, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,249,860. Optionally, the reflective element may comprise aconventional prismatic or flat reflective element or prism, or maycomprise a prismatic or flat reflective element of the types describedin PCT Application No. PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 19, 2003 and publishedApr. 1, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 2004/026633; U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/709,434, filed May 5, 2004, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,420,756; Ser. No. 10/933,842, filed Sep. 3, 2004, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,249,860; Ser. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,255,451; and/or Ser. No. 10/993,302, filed Nov. 19, 2004, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,338,177, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2004/015424, filedMay 18, 2004 and published Dec. 2, 2004 as International Publication No.WO 2004/103772, without affecting the scope of the present invention.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include one or more displays, suchas the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240 and/or 6,329,925,and/or display-on-demand or transflective type displays, such as thetypes disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,690,268; 5,668,663 and/or 5,724,187,and/or in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/054,633, filed Jan. 22,2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,381; and/or Ser. No. 11/021,065, filedDec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 9, 2003 and published Apr. 1, 2004 asInternational Publication No. WO 2004/026633; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US03/35381, filed Nov. 5, 2003 and published May 21, 2004 asInternational Publication No. WO 2004/042457; and/or U.S. provisionalapplications, Ser. No. 60/630,061, filed Nov. 22, 2004; Ser. No.60/667,048, filed Mar. 31, 2005; Ser. No. 60/629,926, filed Nov. 22,2004; Ser. No. 60/531,838, filed Dec. 23, 2003; Ser. No. 60/553,842,filed Mar. 17, 2004; and Ser. No. 60/563,342, filed Apr. 19, 2004,and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US03/40611, filed Dec. 19, 2003 andpublished Jul. 15, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 2004/058540,or may include or incorporate video displays or the like, such as thetypes described in PCT Application No. PCT/US03/40611, filed Dec. 19,2003 and published Jul. 15, 2004 as International Publication No. WO2004/058540, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/630,061,filed Nov. 22, 2004; and Ser. No. 60/667,048, filed Mar. 31, 2005.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include an imaging device, such asan imaging array sensor for imaging systems of the types described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,757,109; 6,717,610; 6,396,397; 6,201,642; 6,353,392;6,313,454; 6,396,397; 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,796,094; 5,877,897;6,097,023 and 6,498,620, and U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/441,341, filed Nov. 16, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,339,149, and Ser.No. 10/427,051, filed Apr. 30, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,577.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 17, a back plate 320 may beformed (such as via injection molding) to include the mirror actuatorattachment portion 320 b, an indicator mounting or receiving portion 326a and a second indicator mounting or receiving portion 326 b. As can beseen in FIG. 17, indicator receiving portion 326 a is formed to receivea signal indicating module 322 a such that light emanating fromindicating module 322 a is transmitted through a passageway 325 ofindicator receiving portion 326 a. Signal indicating module 322 a may besimilar to the signal indicating modules described above, and mayinclude a translucent diffusing block or glow element 324 and anillumination source 328 a (such as at a rear portion of the block or ata side portion of the block) that emits light into the block, wherebythe light reflects off of the sides and rear of the block and istransmitted along the passageway 325 of indicator receiving portion 326a and toward the reflective element. Likewise, signal indicating module322 b may be similar to signal indicating module 222 b discussed above,and may include an illumination source or LED 328 b at a passagewayalong a hollow tube 327 of indicator mounting portion 326 b. Preferably,signal indicating module 322 a includes a light control film 356 a at aforward surface of the glow block or indicating light source 324 todirect the substantially uniform diffuse light emanating from block 324in a direction generally along passageway 325 of indicator receivingportion 326 a. Likewise, the signal indicating module 322 b may includea light control film 356 b for directing light emitted by illuminationsource 328 b toward and along the passageway of the hollow tube 327 ofindicator mounting portion 326 b.

The depth or length (or rearward extending dimension) of the indicatorreceiving portion 326 a may be selected to provide the desired degree ofshielding or blocking the viewability of light emanating from theindicator module by the driver of the vehicle and to provide the desiredviewability of light emanating from the indicator module by the driverof another vehicle when the illumination source of the indicator moduleis activated, while limiting viewability of the indicator module whenthe illumination source is deactivated (desirable for example for a turnsignal indicator). For example, the indicator receiving portion mayextend about 40 mm (or more or less) rearward from the rear surface ofthe planar back plate portion 320 a. Likewise, the angle of thepassageway 325 may be selected depending on the particular applicationof the indicator module. For example, the passageway may be slanted soas to allow light to pass therethrough at an angle A of about 65 degrees(or more or less, such as plus or minus about 5 degrees or thereabouts)relative to the generally vertical plane of the planar back plateportion and reflective element (i.e., about 25 degrees outboard from aline extending perpendicularly from the plane of the planar back plateportion and reflective element), so that the axis formed by the slats orbaffles or vanes is generally pointed away from the side of the vehicle(such as for a turn signal indicator application). Optionally, if it isdesired, for example, to provide a blind spot indicator or LCAindicator, the passageway of the indicator receiving portion may beslanted so as to allow light to pass therethrough at an angle of about65 degrees (or more or less, such as plus or minus about 5 degrees orthereabouts) relative to the generally vertical plane of the planar backplate portion and reflective element (i.e., about 25 degrees inboardfrom a line extending perpendicularly from the plane of the planar backplate portion and reflective element), so that the axis formed by theslats or baffles or vanes is generally pointed toward the side of thevehicle so that the light emanating from the indicator module isviewable by the driver of the host vehicle.

Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 18, a back plate 320′ may be molded toinclude a mirror actuator mounting portion 320 b′, an indicatorreceiving or mounting portion 326 a′ for receiving or mounting a signalindicating module 322 a′, and another indicator receiving or mountingportion 326 b′ for receiving or mounting a signal indicating module 322b′. In the illustrated embodiment, the indicator mounting portion 326 a′and signal indicating module 322 a′ are substantially similar to theindicator mounting portion 326 a and signal indicating module 322 a,discussed above, such that a detailed discussion of the mountingportions and indicating modules need not be repeated herein. Suffice itto say that indicating module 322 a may include an optical block or glowelement 324 a′ and at least one illumination source 328 a′ (such as apower LED) at the block, such as described above.

Likewise, the indicator mounting portion 326 b′ and signal indicatingmodule 322 b′ may be similar in construction to the mounting portion 326a′ and indicating module 322 a′ (although signal indicating module 322b′ is shown in FIG. 18 with two illumination sources or LEDs 328 b atthe rear of the translucent optical block or glow element 324 b′), butmay be angled at a generally opposite direction as the indicating module322 a′ and mounting portion 326 a′. For example, indicating module 322a′ may be configured so as to direct light (such as via the lightcontrol film 356 a′ and passageway 325 a′) in an outboard direction(generally away from the vehicle when the mirror assembly is mounted atthe vehicle), such as for a turn signal indicator (whereby thetransparent/translucent optical plastic block or glow element may beformed in the shape of an arrow head or a chevron or other suitable iconor shape), while indicating module 322 b′ may be configured so as todirect light (such as via the light control film 356 b′ and passageway325 b′) in an inboard direction (generally toward the vehicle when themirror assembly is mounted at the vehicle), such as for a blind spotalert indicator. Because the signal indicating modules 322 a′, 322 b′and indicator mounting portions 326 a′, 326 b′ may be similar to themodules and mounting portions described above, a detailed discussion ofthe modules and mounting portions need not be repeated herein.

The light control film disposed at the indicator module may be disposedor adhered otherwise attached to the translucent block or to the rearsurface of the respective indicator receiving portion so that lightemanating from the block or illumination source is directed through thelight control film and directed along and through the passagewayestablished through the respective indicator receiving portion. Thelight control film may comprise any suitable film and may function asmicrolouvers, so as to preferentially direct light that is received fromone angle whereby the light is redirected or controlled to anotherdirection (such as the films of the types described in PCT ApplicationNo. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 asInternational Publication No. WO 2006/124682, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety). An example of asuitable light control film or material is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,481,409 (which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety), and may comprise a light control film manufactured by the 3MCompany of Minn., such as the light control film commercially availableunder the trade name LCF-P (light control film—polycarbonate).

Such a light control film comprises a thin plastic film enclosing aplurality of closely spaced, light black colored microlouvers. Apreferred light control film is approximately 0.75 mm thick orthereabouts, and the angled microlouvers are spaced approximately 0.127mm apart. The microlouvers may be in various angular positions toprovide a particular viewing angle, such as from as narrow as about a 48degree angle to as wide as about a 90 degree angle, depending on thedesired angle of the microlouvers for the particular application forangling/directing the light in a desired or appropriate direction orangle. Thus, the light control film controls or directs the lightemanating from the block along a desired or appropriate or predeterminedangle with respect to the back plate and mirror substrate or reflectiveelement, and helps assure that the driver of the host vehicle is largelyunaware or not bothered by actuation of the turn signal indicating lightsources.

The likes of a 3M Light Control Film comprises a thin plastic filmcontaining closely spaced dark or black or light absorbing microlouvers.When used as described herein, the film simulates a tiny Venetian blind,wherein the microlouvers allow for controlled transmission of the lightemitted by the indicator light sources (that are disposed behind thetransflective mirror element) along the axis of the microlouvers so thatthe light is seen by drivers overtaking the host vehicle in a side-laneblind spot area but the line of sight from the driver of the hostvehicle to the turn signal indicator's emitted light beam issubstantially blocked by the microlouvers. Examples of light directingor regulating filters or baffle assemblies can be found in U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,906,085 and 5,313,335, the entire disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein.

Optionally, and typically, the light control film may have itsmicrolouvers at an angle of about zero degrees (i.e., generallyperpendicular to the plane of the light control film) so as to directthe principle beam axis of the light emitted by the illumination sourcesat the desired or appropriate angle established by the angling of therear surface of the display receiving portion relative to its frontsurface and so as to have the light beam emitted by the light sourcespass through the display receiving portion to exit at the desired or setor selected angle. Placement of the light control film on the angledrear surface of the display receiving portion is advantageous when thelight control film (such as 3M's VIKUITI™ ALCF-P or LCF-P) is used wherethe louver angle is zero degrees and where on-axis vertically incidentlight from the light sources is highly transmitted but where off-axislight is cut-off by the embedded microlouvers. Such zero degree louveredlight control film is used for privacy filters for laptop computerscreens and ATM screens, and so is economically available. By being ableto purchase and use zero angle louvered light control film, and by usingthe likes of an angled rear surface (pre-established via molding of themirror back plate at its display receiving portion) to support the lightcontrol film at an angle in front of the light sources that aresimilarly angled and supported, economical assembly can be enhanced.Optionally, and alternatively, a mechanical support to mutually supportand angle the light control film/light sources relative to the plane ofthe rear of the mirror reflective element may be used so that lightemitted by the light sources is generally aligned with or on-axis withthe light transmission axis between the louvers, and so that the lightbeam passed through the light control film has its principal beam axisdirected in the desired or appropriate direction, such as in a directiongenerally away (for a turn signal indicator) from the vehicle body sideand away from direct view by a driver of the host vehicle to which theexterior mirror reflective element is attached, or such as in adirection generally toward (for a blind spot indicator) the vehicle bodyside for direct viewing by the driver of the host vehicle and away fromdirect view by a driver of another vehicle.

Preferably, the indicator mounting portion or portions 326 a, 326 b ofback plate 320 include light absorbing means to substantially absorbnon-axially directed light rays passing through the respectivepassageway. For example, the inner wall or surface of the passageway ofthe indicator mounting portion may be black or dark (such as due to themolding of the dark or opaque back plate), and may be at least partiallylight absorbing, and preferably substantially light absorbing, and mostpreferably fully light absorbing of light incident thereon. Thus,principally only light rays that pass substantially or entirely throughthe full length of the inner passageway exit the end of the lightemitting passageway, and, therefore, the light emitting source is mainlyvisible only by viewing axially along or substantially along the line ofdirection of the passageway. For example, the inner surface of thepassageway may be stippled or textured or faceted to make the passagewaysubstantially light absorbing, or the inner surface may include ahoneycomb structure that may substantially absorb the light that is notdirected along the axis of the passageway.

Optionally, the blind spot indicator of the present invention mayinclude a blind spot alert indicator stencil or mask, at the frontsurface of the back plate and behind the reflective element, forproviding a dark mask at the indicator module or passageway while havinga cut out of the desired or appropriate icon or light pattern forviewing by the driver of the vehicle (or other person in the subjectvehicle or in a vehicle approaching or at the side of the subjectvehicle) when the indicator or illumination source is activated. Forexample, and as shown in FIGS. 19A-C, a back plate 420 may include ablind spot indicator mounting portion 426 (such as at an inboard portionor region of the back plate) and blind spot indicator or alert module orelement 422. Optionally, the blind spot indicator or alert module orelement 422 at mounting portion 426 may utilize aspects of the blindspot indicator or alert module or element 222 b and/or the indicatormodules and mounting portions described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In the illustrated embodiment, mounting portion 426 comprises a hollowtube 427 integrally formed with and extending from the rear of the backplate 420, and with a passageway extending therethrough or therealong,whereby the indicator module 422 is mounted at the rearward portion ofthe hollow tube 427. An indicator stencil or mask or masking element 425is disposed at the front surface of the planar portion 420 a of backplate 420 (and preferably received within a recess 420 c established atthe front surface of the planar portion 420 a of back plate 420) andgenerally at the forward end of the passageway extending through thehollow tube 427. The indicator module 422 includes an illuminationsource or LED 428 that is operable to emit light into and along andthrough the passageway of the hollow tube 427 and through the stenciledelement or masking element 425 and toward and through the reflectiveelement 418 (FIG. 19C) for viewing by the driver of the vehicle.Optionally, the indicator module 422 may include a light control film429 (such as a light control film of the types described above withrespect to indicator modules 322 a, 322 b, 322 a′, 322 b′) to direct thelight emitted by illumination source 428 in a direction generally alongthe passageway of the hollow tube 427 of indicator mounting portion 426.

As can be seen in FIG. 19B, the masking element 425 may be a dark oropaque substrate or element 425 a with one or more apertures or icons orcharacters or patterns 425 b etched or cut or otherwise establishedtherethrough so that light will pass through the apertures or icons yetnot through the other portions of the masking element. The reflectiveelement 418 comprises a transflective display-on-demand reflectiveelement that is partially transmissive to allow the light from theindicator module 422 to transmit through the stenciled icons 425 b ofmasking element 425 and through the transflective reflective element.The transflective reflective element 418 is substantially reflective oflight incident thereon, such the dark masking element 425 issubstantially hidden or substantially non-viewable or discernable by aperson viewing the reflective element when the indicator module isdeactivated. Thus, the blind spot indicator is viewable and discerniblewhen the illumination source 428 of indicator module 422 is activatedand is substantially not viewable or discernible when the illuminationsource 428 of indicator module 422 is deactivated.

Back plate 420 includes an actuator mounting portion 420 b for attachingthe back plate and reflective element to a mirror actuator for providingadjustment of the reflective element by the driver of the vehicle. Theindicator module and mounting portion 426 are disposed toward theinboard side of the reflective element subassembly and at a space thatis available to the rear of the reflective element and clear of themirror actuator.

Optionally, the reflective element subassembly and/or indicator moduleof the present invention may include a non-illuminated icon etched orotherwise formed or established at the mirror reflector and at or nearan illuminated blind spot indicator so as to be readily viewed by thedriver of the vehicle when the blind spot alert indicator is activated(such as in response to a detection of a vehicle or object in a laneadjacent to the subject vehicle and/or in response to the driver of thesubject vehicle activating a turn signal indicator in anticipation ofmaking a lane change and/or the like). For example, and as shown in FIG.20A, a reflective element subassembly 510 includes a reflective element518 and a back plate 520, which includes a turn signal indicatormounting portion 526 a (such as at an outboard portion or region of theback plate) and a blind spot indicator mounting portion 526 b (such asat an inboard portion or region of the back plate), such as in a similarmanner as described above with respect to the reflective elementsubassembly of FIG. 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the turn signalindicator mounting portion 526 a and signal indicating module 522 ainclude a translucent block or indicating light source or element 524and illumination source 528 a at a rear portion of the mounting portion526 a and generally at a light baffle 530 of back plate 520. Optionally,the blind spot indicator or alert module or element 522 b at mountingportion 526 b may utilize aspects of the indicator modules and mountingportions described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/520,193, filedSep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety, and may comprise a hollow tube 527integrally formed with and extending from the rear of the back plate520, and with a passageway extending therethrough or therealong, wherebythe indicator module 522 b is mounted at the rearward portion of thehollow tube 527. The indicator module 522 b includes an illuminationsource or LED 528 b that is operable to emit light into and along andthrough the passageway of the hollow tube 527 and toward and through thereflective element 518 for viewing by the driver of the vehicle. Backplate 520 also includes an actuator mounting portion 520 b for attachingthe back plate and reflective element to a mirror actuator for providingadjustment of the reflective element by the driver of the vehicle.

The reflective element 518 may comprise any type of reflective element,preferably a transflective or display on demand type reflective elementsuch as described above. In the illustrated embodiment, reflectiveelement 518 comprises a transflective electrochromic reflective elementhaving a first or front substrate 540 and a second or rear substrate 542with an electrochromic medium 543 sandwiched therebetween and sealedwith a perimeter seal 544. The front substrate 540 includes atransparent conductor coating 546 at its rear surface and may include aperimeter metallic band 550 at the perimeter of the rear surface, suchas described above. The reflective element may comprise a “thirdsurface” reflective element with its rear substrate 542 having atransflective coating or a metal oxide/metal/metal oxide stack (with atleast one of the metal oxide layers that contacts any electro-opticmedium comprising a conducting or semiconducting layer), such as an IMIstack of coatings or layers 548, at its front surface. An icon orcharacter or indicia 525 may be etched or otherwise created orestablished (such as via masking during deposition of the reflectorcoating or later etching or ablation or the like) at and at leastpartially through the third surface reflective coatings or layers 548.

The back plate 520 is adhered or attached at the rear surface of therear substrate, and the mirror reflective element sub-assembly 512 mayinclude a heater element 538 and an opacifying element or layer orcoating or film 552 disposed between the back plate and rear substrate.As can be seen in FIG. 20A, the heater element 538 and opacifying layer552 include apertures therethrough (or transparent or translucent orlight transmitting or light diffusing portion or portions of the heaterelement and/or opacifying layer) at the location of the light baffle 530and the passageway of the indicator mounting portion 526 b of the backplate 520, so that light emanating from the signal indicating modules522 a, 522 b is transmitted through the apertures in the heater elementand opacifying layer and through the reflective element for viewing by aperson viewing the reflective element at the appropriate angle.

The icon or indicia may be formed through the reflector coating orcoatings or partially through the reflector coating or coatings and thusmay provide a non-reflective icon (which may appear as a dark icon dueto the darkened or opaque opacifying element or layer 552), or mayprovide a partially reflective icon or indicia and may be a differenttint or color as compared to the spectral reflectivity of the reflectorcoatings or layers. Optionally, the indicia may be established utilizingaspects of the reflective element assemblies described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar.23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008; and/or PCT ApplicationNo. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 asInternational Publication No. WO 2006/124682, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Optionally, if thereflective element has a transflective reflector, the reflective elementmay have a white or light colored layer or element behind the reflectiveelement at the icon or indicia to make the presence of icon or indicialess covert and thus to provide enhanced viewing of the icon or indicia(by giving an indication of the presence of the icon or indicia withoutestablishing a window through the mirror reflector). Thus, the presenceof the blind spot feature is subtlely rendered when the mirrorreflective element is viewed such as on a sunny day. Since thetransflector of the transflective mirror element can be made to have avisible light transmission of about 20% T to as high as about 35% T, orhigher, the use of a white or lighter colored element or icon or maskclose to and contacting the substrate surface to the rear of thereflective element's substrate, and adjacent to where the blind spotindicator will illuminate, can stand out during daylight and beperceived in contrast to the otherwise highly light absorbing, generallyopaque backing at the rear of the transflective mirror element. Thus,the owner of the vehicle gets a subtle indication that the vehicle isequipped with such a “another-vehicle-is-in-a-side-lane” blind spotalert system.

The icon or icons 525 etched or otherwise established at the mirrorreflector are located at or near or adjacent to where the illuminatedblind spot indicator 523 is viewable to the driver of the subjectvehicle. As can be seen in FIG. 20B, the illumination of the blind spotindicator (via activation of the illumination source 528 b of blind spotindicator module 522 b) functions to alert the driver or draw thedriver's attention to that region of the reflective element where theindicator is disposed. The non-illuminated icon functions to indicate tothe driver that the illuminated indicator pertains to the blind spotdetection system so that the driver is alerted to a detection of avehicle or object at or in the respective blind spot of the vehicle. Ascan also be seen in FIG. 20B, the turn signal module 522 a isactivatable to illuminate a turn signal indicator icon 529 for viewingby the drivers of other vehicles rearward of and/or to the side of thesubject vehicle. Because the reflective element 518 is preferably atransflective display-on-demand reflective element, the illuminatedicons or indicators are viewable by a person viewing the reflectiveelement when they are activated, but are substantially not viewable ordiscernible by a person viewing the reflective element when they aredeactivated.

Thus, the indicator module is covertly placed at the back plate andbehind the reflective element so that it is not readily visible to aperson viewing the reflective element when the illumination source isdeactivated. The dark or black walled passageway of the back platefunctions to camouflage the presence of the indicator module. The lengthof the passageway and indicator mounting portion is selected so that theindicator module is located far enough back from the reflective elementso as to be substantially not visible to a person viewing the reflectiveelement (when the illumination source or module is deactivated).Preferably, the indicator module is disposed or located at least about0.5 cm back from the rear surface of the reflective element, and morepreferably is disposed or located at least about 1 cm back from the rearsurface of the reflective element, and more preferably is disposed orlocated at least about 1.5 cm back from the rear surface of thereflective element. However, the indicator module may be located closerto or further back from the reflective element while remaining withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention.

Therefore, the indicator mounting portion and back plate and the signalindicating module of the present invention provide enhanced displays orindications at the mirror reflective element, while reducing the costsand complexities associated with displays or indicators of the priorart. For example, an advantage of creating a light baffle via moldingthe back plate is that such a back plate and light baffle obviates thecosts and complexities associated with utilizing a separate lightcontrol film, such as what is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,906,085;5,355,284; 5,788,357 and 6,045,243, which are hereby incorporated hereinby reference in their entireties. Further, utilizing the glow block andits simple construction obviates the complexities and costs associatedwith the prior art mirror assemblies, such as those described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,788,357 and 6,045,243, which are hereby incorporated hereinby reference in their entireties.

Thus, the mirror assembly or assemblies of the present invention obviatethe need to have the likes of a collimating optical element and/or arefractive optical element or optical elements having total internalreflective portions. As can be seen from the figures and the abovediscussions, the present invention has a very economical constructioncomprising a glowing light source or block and a light baffle (which maycomprise a light directing film or the innovative establishment of alight baffle during the molding of the back plate itself). The presentinvention thus may provide a reduced cost indicator for a turn signalindicator or blind spot alert indicator at an exterior rearview mirrorof the vehicle. Optionally, aspects of the present invention may beutilized for displays or indicators of an interior rearview mirrorassembly, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

The angle and direction of the indicator mounting portions may beselected depending on the particular associated display indicia or iconsand on the particular mirror application. The reflector carrier or backplate of the mirror reflector sub-assemblies may have an aperture oropening therethrough for at least partially receiving the indicatormounting portion or portions or hollow tube or tubes or passagewaystherethrough when the back plate is attached to the rear surface of thereflective element, whereby the hollow tube or tubes (and associatedindicator or indicators) may protrude at least partially through theback plate when the mirror reflector sub-assembly is assembled.Optionally, the icons or displays of the mirror reflector sub-assembliesdescribed herein may be established utilizing aspects of the icons orsymbols or indicia described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S.Publication No. US-2006-0061008; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 asInternational Publication No. WO 2006/124682, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror reflector sub-assembly may include masks orbaffles or additional light direction means or occluding means ordirectional filtering. For example, the mirror reflective elementsub-assembly may comprise louvers or shutters for shading from view, orfilters or light directing film or the like, at the rear of thereflective element (such as between the back plate and the iconisticportions) for further directing or guiding the illumination from theillumination source at the desired angle and through the reflectiveelement so as to be principally or solely viewable by the driver of thehost vehicle (for blind spot/LCA applications) or so as to beprincipally or solely viewable by others at the side or rear of thevehicle but not principally by the host driver (for turn signalapplications).

Therefore, the present invention provides a back plate that includes oneor more indicator mounting portions or display receiving portionsintegrally formed therewith, so that the display element or device maybe readily assembled to the mirror reflector sub-assembly via attachmentor adherence of the back plate to the mirror reflective element. Thepresent invention thus provides a display element or device that isreadily assembled to a mirror reflector sub-assembly, and thusfacilitates assembly of the mirror reflector sub-assembly at a facilityremote from the mirror assembly facility, such that the mirror reflectorsub-assembly (including the back plate and indicator mounting portion)may be provided or supplied to the mirror manufacturer as a unit. Themirror manufacturer then may install or attach the indicator orindicator module to the indicator mounting or receiving portion (or mayelectrically connect an already installed indicator to a wire or lead ofthe mirror assembly), and may attach the mirror reflector sub-assemblyto the mirror actuator. The present invention thus provides enhancedassembly processing of the mirror assembly, while taking advantage ofthe otherwise typically unused space within the casing and behind theback plate of the exterior rearview mirror assembly. For example, amirror manufacturer may purchase a sealed, pre-assembled signalindicator module (including the necessary electrical connectors forestablishing electrical connection and power and control to the moduleas it is attached or mounted to the reflective element or back plate),and may insert the module into the housing or shell or structure of theback plate (that is pre-configured to receive such) or may otherwiseengage the module with the rear of the reflective element assembly, suchas by inserting one end of the module into the side walls of the shellor structure of the back plate and against the rear of the reflectiveelement, whereby the module makes an at least partially efficientoptical connection/coupling to the rear surface or portion of thetransflective reflective element or to a light transmitting portion ofany heater pad disposed between the back plate and the rear of thereflective element, preferably while also making a mechanical connectionand alignment to the back plate of the reflective element assembly. Notethat the receiving portion of the back plate at the rear of the heaterpad/reflective element and where the signal indicator/light unit emitslight therethrough when its light source or light sources are activatedmay itself comprise a resilient light transmitting clear and/orlight-diffusing material or element (such as a low durometer softplastic material or element, such as an element having less than 120Shore A durometer hardness for example, such as a silicone pad or film,or such as an optical adhesive or optical tape or film) that at leastone of (a) light-couples the receiving part of the back plate to thesignal indicator/light unit and (b) light couples the part of the backplate where the signal indicator/light unit is disposed at (and emitslight through) to the corresponding aperture or light transmittingwindow of the heater pad and/or to the rear surface of the substrate ofthe reflective element.

Optionally, a spring-like resilient light transmitting and/or lightdiffusing interface or pad, such as a silicone or other soft or pliableplastic having light transmitting qualities, may be provided at theinterface end of the module (or at or in any aperture in the back platewhere a light indicator shines through) to provide an interface at therear (typically a glass surface that may be coated or uncoated) of thereflective element with little or no air gap between the module and therear of the reflective element. Also, the indicator module (having ashape or structure, such as a triangular or trapezoid shape or the like,with one or more light sources or light emitting diodes and anelectrical connector) may have a light transmitting element or window orlens (that may or may not have an optical light directing property) atits interfacing end that is at least somewhat soft or pliable, so thatthe module creates intimate contact at the rear of the reflectiveelement when pressed against the reflective element. The module may bepurchased with the light transmitting interface or pad alreadyincorporated therein, or the pad may be a separate element at the rearof the reflective element or may be separately disposed between themodule and the rear of the reflective element.

The signal indicator or blind spot indicator or turn signal indicator ofthe present invention thus provides a visible signal that is viewable atthe exterior mirror by a person viewing the reflective element of theexterior rearview mirror at or near an appropriate angle or locationrelative to the exterior mirror. If the mirror reflective element is nota transflective mirror reflective element (such as a construction usinglaser ablation to create a hole or holes in the mirror reflector such asis now used on the likes of 2008 Toyota Tundra and 2008 CadillacEscalade vehicles), the size of the icon or indicia of the display orsignal indicator module is typically limited if used for blind spotindication, such as to a size dimension that is circumscribed by acircle having a diameter of about 5 mm to about 7 mm or less, since alarger indicator or display may interfere with viewing of the reflectiveelement during normal driving conditions and when the signal indicatormodule is not activated, and may be aesthetically unacceptable. However,if the reflective element is a transflective mirror reflective element,the display area or icon or indicia may be larger than that of anon-transflective mirror reflective element, and may have a sizedimension that is circumscribed by a circle having a diameter of greaterthan about 7 mm or preferably greater than about 15 mm and up to about30 mm or thereabouts. This is because, for transflective mirrorreflector applications, the icon or indicia or display of the signalindicator module is only viewable and discernible by a person viewingthe rearview mirror assembly when it is activated and, thus, when it isdesired or appropriate that the person viewing the mirror assemblyreadily sees and discerns the signal, and is substantially not viewableor discernible during normal driving conditions and when the signalindicator module is deactivated.

Desirably, the signal indicator module (such as for a blind spotindicator) will be sufficiently bright or intense when activated so asto be viewable during high ambient or daytime driving conditions. Forexample, the blind spot indication signal indicator module preferablyhas a luminance of preferably in the range of about 5,000 nits(candelas/square meter) to about 30,000 nits or greater when activatedduring daytime and when viewed via the reflective element from the frontalong its axis of highest brightness/directionality, and with the blindspot signal indictor behind the reflective element and emitting lighttherethrough. The signal indicator module is operable (such as via aphoto sensor control) to have a significantly reduced intensity duringlow ambient lighting, night time driving conditions (and may beautomatically adjusted to the reduced intensity in response to anambient light sensor detecting an ambient light level at or below athreshold light level).

Although shown and described as being located at a driver side exteriormirror, the blind spot/LCA/turn signal indicator of the presentinvention may also or otherwise be located at the passenger sideexterior mirror, if desired. Optionally, a blind spot indicator inaccordance with the present invention may be located at both the driverside mirror assembly and the passenger side mirror assembly of the hostvehicle. The indicator at either side may be selectively activated orilluminated to indicate to the driver of the host vehicle that an objector other vehicle has been detected at that particular side lane regionof the host vehicle. Optionally, the blind spot indicator may beassociated with a blind spot detection and indication system thatincludes one or more indicators at the interior rearview mirror assemblyof the host vehicle. The blind spot indicators may utilize aspects ofthe blind spot indicators and/or blind spot detection systems describedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,198,409; 5,929,786 and 5,786,772, and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2006/026148, filed Jul. 5, 2006 and published Jan.11, 2007 as International Publication No. WO 2007/005942, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Such an indicator or indicators may function as a lane change assist(LCA) indicator or indicators and/or a blind spot indicator orindicators. Such blind spot indicators are typically activated when anobject is detected (via a side object or blind spot detection system orthe like such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,038,577; 6,882,287;6,198,409; 5,929,786 and 5,786,772, and/or U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/315,675, filed Dec. 22, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,720,580; and/orPCT Application No. PCT/US2006/026148, filed Jul. 5, 2006 and publishedJan. 11, 2007 as International Publication No. WO 2007/005942, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties) at the sideand/or rear of the vehicle (at the blind spot) and when the turn signalis also activated, so as to provide an alert to the driver of the hostvehicle that there is an object or vehicle in the lane next to the hostvehicle at a time when the driver of the host vehicle intends to moveover into the adjacent lane. Optionally, and alternately, the indicatoror indicators may function as a lane change assist indicator orindicators, where the host vehicle may be detected to be moving into anadjacent lane without the turn signal being activated, and an object orvehicle may be detected at the adjacent lane, whereby the LCA indicatoror indicators may be activated to provide an alert to the driver of thelane change to assist the driver in avoiding unintentional lane changesand/or lane changes when a vehicle or object is detected in the adjacentlane.

A challenge to providing an indicator at the exterior rearview mirrorreflective element is that the back plate and associated components ofthe exterior reflective element subassembly may be exposed to harshenvironmental conditions, such as water spray, rain, dirt and debris andthe like, when the reflective element is mounted at a vehicle. Thus, itis desirable to provide a sealed, water impervious indicator module ordisplay element so as to limit or substantially preclude water ingressor the like into the module or element. Optionally, the back plate andindicator module may be integrally molded to limit water entry into themodule, whereby the illumination source and/or light directing film orthe like may be sealed at the module to protect the electroniccomponents of the module. Optionally, a lens or cover element may beprovided at the planar portion of the back plate and may be sealedthereat to limit water entry into the indicator module through the backplate.

Optionally, and desirably, the display element or signal indicatingmodule (such as a module of the types having a hollow tube configurationor a translucent block configuration as described above) may comprise astand-alone unitary module that is a substantially sealed, waterimpervious, indicator module or display module, so as to besubstantially impervious to water ingress or to debris ingress, andpreferably with electrical connectors (such as a plug or socketconnector) established or incorporated therein or with a lead or wireharness (such as a flying lead or pigtail) established or incorporatedtherein. The indicator module may be provided as a sealed orsubstantially sealed unit or module that can be snapped into orotherwise attached or secured (preferably mechanically but optionallyadhesively) at the mirror back plate (and does so substantially orwholly sealingly to limit or substantially preclude water ingress to themodule so that the module and back plate are substantially waterimpervious), preferably at the mirror sub-assembly manufacturingoperation when the mirror reflective element (and any associated heateror other item or element) is joined to the mirror back plate, such as byutilizing aspects of the indicators described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859,and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 16, 2006 andpublished Nov. 23, 2006 as International Publication No. WO 2006/124682,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.For example, the indicator module may be provided with the illuminationsource and associated elements sealed to the hollow tube or sidewalls ofthe module, and a lens or optic element (such as a transparent lenselement or the like) may be sealed at the opposite end of the hollowtube or housing structure of the module, such that both ends of thehollow tube or housing structure of the module are closed and sealed sothat the module is substantially water impervious as a stand-alonemodule. The sealed signal indicating module, including the light sourceand circuitry, may be supplied or provided to an assembly facility (suchas a mirror assembly facility or the like) from a display elementsupplier, while the back plate may be molded and supplied or provided tothe assembly facility from a back plate supplier. An operator at theassembly facility may attach the display device or indicator moduleand/or circuitry to the back plate (such as to the rear surface of thedisplay receiving portion of the back plate), preferably by snapping thedisplay device or module to snaps or clips or clasps or fingers or thelike molded into the back plate (at its display element receivingportion) to assemble the display or indicator module to the back plate.Optionally, and desirably, the display receiving portion of the backplate and/or the display element (such as at the circuit element orcircuit board) or indicator module may have attaching elements or snapsor clips or prongs (such as cooperating structure molded into the moduleand back plate so that the module is readily attached to or snapped orclasped to the back plate) to ease the assembly and securement of thedisplay element or indicator module to the back plate, such as at or toa display receiving portion of the back plate, so that an operator mayattach the display element or indicator module to the back plate via asnap connection or attachment.

Optionally, and desirably, electrical connection (such as to a powersupply or 12 volt power wire of the vehicle battery/ignition system orto a power feed from a LIN bus controller) to the display circuitry maybe made when the display element is snapped or otherwise attached(preferably mechanically but optionally adhesively) to the back plate,such as by making electrical contact between the display element andmirror circuitry (including circuitry associated with the reflectiveelement and/or mirror assembly, such as electrochromic mirror circuitry,mirror lights and/or display circuitry and the like, typically disposedat a printed circuit board of the mirror assembly) when the displayelement is snapped to the back plate, such as via pressed contact orconnection between respective electrical terminals or contacts of thedisplay element and mirror circuitry as the display element is pressedor snapped or received to the display receiving portion of the backplate, such as by press attaching the display element or module intoreceiving fingers or clips or snaps or the like that are integrallyformed with the display receiving portion of the back plate in theinjection molding operation that manufactures or forms the back plateitself. For example, electrical terminals or contacts may be insertmolded in the display receiving portion so as to be exposed at (orotherwise located at) the rear surface of the display receiving portionfor electrical connection to the display element when the displayelement is attached or snapped to the display receiving portion of theback plate. Alternately, electrical connection to the display device maybe made via other means, such as wires or leads or flying leads or wireharnesses or the like such as pigtails or other suitable connectors orleads, and before or after the display device is snapped or otherwiseattached to the back plate, while remaining within the spirit and scopeof the present invention.

Thus, a method of assembling such a mirror reflective elementsub-assembly may include molding the back plate having an indicatormounting or receiving portion and providing the back plate andreflective element to an assembly facility, while also providing adisplay element or signal indicating module at the assembly facility.Preferably, the display element and the back plate are supplied orprovided to the assembly facility from different sources. An operator atthe assembly facility takes a back plate and a display element and snapsthe display element to the rear surface of the display receiving portionof the back plate to attach and secure the display element at thedisplay receiving portion. The operator also makes the electricalconnection between circuitry or wiring of the mirror assembly orsub-assembly and the display element, either as the display element issnapped to the display receiving portion of the back plate (such as viacontacts at the display element and display receiving portion of theback plate) or at a separate time from the attachment of the displayelement to the back plate (such as via separate connectors at orextending from the display element). Optionally, electrical connectionto the display element may be made during assembly of the reflectiveelement sub-assembly to the mirror casing of the mirror assembly (suchas via connectors or leads or pigtails extending from the displayelement).

Thus, the display elements or devices or modules of the presentinvention provide a desired or appropriate iconistic display orindication that, when electrically actuated, emits light that isviewable by a person viewing the mirror reflective element. The displayelement may be formed with the back plate or may attach to the backplate (such as by snapping to the back plate or the like), and providesthe desired angle effect relative to the reflective element. Forexample, the reflective element may be attached to or snapped into theback plate (which includes the display element at a perimeter regionthereof), whereby the display element or module is thus positioned at adesired or appropriate angle relative to the reflective element toprovide the desired or appropriate angle effect for directing the lightfrom the light sources (when electrically actuated) in a desired orpredetermined angle relative to the mirror reflective element. Thus, thedisplay element provides the desired or appropriate preset angle whenthe mirror reflective element is attached to the back plate.

The blind spot indicators of the present invention thus provide adisplay element or indicator that is disposed at or integrally providedwith the back plate. A back plate thus may be provided to a mirrormanufacturer with mounting or attachment structure or receivingstructure for the display element or display circuitry integrally formedwith the back plate. The attachment structure or receiving portion isconfigured to receive or attach to a display element or displaycircuitry or indicator element. A mirror assembler or manufacturer mayattach the display element to the attachment structure or receivingportion of the back plate (such as by snapping display circuitry or acircuit board at the attachment structure), whereby the display elementis oriented at a desired angle relative to the mirror reflective elementwhen attached to the back plate. Thus, illumination emanating from thedisplay element is directed at the desired or appropriate angle forviewing, either by the driver of the host vehicle (for a blind spotdetection system) or a driver of another vehicle (for a turn signalindicator).

The blind spot indicators of the present invention thus are operable toprovide an indication to the driver of the host vehicle that an objector other vehicle has been detected in the lane or area adjacent to theside of the host vehicle. The blind spot indicator may be operable inassociation with a blind spot detection system, which may include animaging sensor or sensors, or an ultrasonic sensor or sensors, or asonar sensor or sensors or the like. For example, the blind spotdetection system may utilize aspects of the blind spot detection and/orimaging systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,038,577; 6,882,287;6,198,409; 5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772, and/or U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/239,980, filed Sep. 30, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,881,496;and/or Ser. No. 11/315,675, filed Dec. 22, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No.7,720,580, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/638,687,filed Dec. 23, 2004; Ser. No. 60/628,709, filed Nov. 17, 2004; Ser. No.60/614,644, filed Sep. 30, 2004; and/or Ser. No. 60/618,686, filed Oct.14, 2004, and/or of the reverse or backup aid systems, such as therearwardly directed vehicle vision systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,550,677; 5,760,962; 5,670,935; 5,877,897; 6,201,642; 6,396,397;6,498,620; 6,717,610 and/or 6,757,109, and/or U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/418,486, filed Apr. 18, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,974,and/or of the automatic headlamp controls described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,796,094 and/or 5,715,093; and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/105,757, filed Apr. 14, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,526,103; and/orU.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/607,963, filed Sep. 8, 2004,and/or of the rain sensors described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,250,148 and6,341,523, and/or of other imaging systems, such as the types describedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,353,392 and 6,313,454, which may utilize variousimaging sensors or imaging array sensors or cameras or the like, such asa CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensor or other sensors or the like,such as the types disclosed in commonly assigned, U.S. Pat. Nos.5,550,677; 5,760,962; 6,097,023 and 5,796,094, and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/441,341, filed Nov. 16, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.7,339,149, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2003/036177 filed Nov. 14,2003, published Jun. 3, 2004 as PCT Publication No. WO 2004/047421, withall of the above referenced U.S. patents, patent applications andprovisional applications and PCT applications being commonly assignedand being hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the indicator or indicators of the present invention mayalert the driver of the host vehicle of other situations or status orthe like. For example, the indicator could function to alert the driverof the host vehicle that the brake lights of the host vehicle arefunctioning properly. Other applications or uses of the indicator may beimplemented, without affecting the scope of the present invention.

The reflective element of the rearview mirror assembly may comprise anelectro-optic or electrochromic reflective element or cell, such as anelectrochromic mirror assembly and electrochromic reflective elementutilizing principles disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos.6,690,268; 5,140,455; 5,151,816; 6,178,034; 6,154,306; 6,002,544;5,567,360; 5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414; 5,253,109; 5,076,673;5,073,012; 5,117,346; 5,724,187; 5,668,663; 5,910,854; 5,142,407 and/or4,712,879, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/054,633, filedJan. 22, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,381; Ser. No. 11/021,065, filedDec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451; and/or Ser. No. 11/226,628,filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No.US-2006-0061008, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May16, 2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 as International Publication No. WO2006/124682, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/695,149,filed Jun. 29, 2005; Ser. No. 60/690,400, filed Jun. 14, 2005; Ser. No.60/681,250, filed May 16, 2005; and/or Ser. No. 60/692,113, filed Jun.20, 2005, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, and/or as disclosed in the following publications: N. R.Lynam, “Electrochromic Automotive Day/Night Mirrors”, SAE TechnicalPaper Series 870636 (1987); N. R. Lynam, “Smart Windows forAutomobiles”, SAE Technical Paper Series 900419 (1990); N. R. Lynam andA. Agrawal, “Automotive Applications of Chromogenic Materials”, LargeArea Chromogenics: Materials and Devices for Transmittance Control, C.M. Lampert and C. G. Granquist, EDS., Optical Engineering Press, Wash.(1990), which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties. The thicknesses and materials of the coatings on thesubstrates of the electrochromic reflective element, such as on thethird surface of the reflective element assembly, may be selected toprovide a desired color or tint to the mirror reflective element, suchas a blue colored reflector, such as is known in the art and/or such asdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,854; 6,420,036 and 7,274,501, and inPCT Application No. PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 9, 2003 and publishedApr. 1, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 2004/026633, which areall hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, use of an elemental semiconductor mirror, such as a siliconmetal mirror, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,286,965; 6,196,688;5,535,056; 5,751,489 and 6,065,840, and/or in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/993,302, filed Nov. 19, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,177,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, can be advantageous because such elemental semiconductormirrors (such as can be formed by depositing a thin film of silicon) canbe greater than 50 percent reflecting in the photopic (SAE J964ameasured), while being also substantially transmitting of light (up to20 percent or even more). Such silicon mirrors also have the advantageof being able to be deposited onto a flat glass substrate and to be bentinto a curved (such as a convex or aspheric) curvature, which is alsoadvantageous since many passenger-side exterior rearview mirrors arebent or curved.

Optionally, the reflective element may include a perimeter metallicband, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,255,451 and7,274,501, and PCT Application No. PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 19, 2003and published Apr. 1, 2004 as International Publication No. WO2004/026633; and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US03/35381, filed Nov. 5,2003 and published May 21, 2004 as International Publication No. WO2004/042457; and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filedSep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No.US-2006-0061008; and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No.60/692,113, filed Jun. 20, 2005; Ser. No. 60/677,990, filed May 5, 2005;Ser. No. 60/653,787, filed Feb. 17, 2005; Ser. No. 60/642,227, filedJan. 7, 2005; Ser. No. 60/638,250, filed Dec. 21, 2004; Ser. No.60/624,091, filed Nov. 1, 2004, and Ser. No. 60/609,642, filed Sep. 14,2004, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. Optionally, the reflective element may include indiciaformed at and viewable at the reflective element, such as by utilizingaspects of the reflective elements described in PCT Application No.PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 asInternational Publication No. WO 2006/124682; and U.S. provisionalapplications, Ser. No. 60/681,250, filed May 16, 2005; Ser. No.60/690,400, filed Jun. 14, 2005; Ser. No. 60/695,149, filed Jun. 29,2005; Ser. No. 60/730,334, filed Oct. 26, 2005; Ser. No. 60/750,199,filed Dec. 14, 2005; Ser. No. 60/774,449, filed Feb. 17, 2006; and Ser.No. 60/783,496, filed Mar. 18, 2006, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the reflective element may comprise a single substrate witha reflective coating at its rear surface, without affecting the scope ofthe present invention. The mirror assembly thus may comprise a prismaticmirror assembly or planar or non-planar mirror or other mirror having asingle substrate reflective element, such as a mirror assembly utilizingaspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,318,870; 6,598,980; 5,327,288;4,948,242; 4,826,289; 4,436,371 and 4,435,042; and PCT Application No.PCT/US04/015424, filed May 18, 2004 and published Dec. 2, 2004 asInternational Publication No. WO 2004/103772; and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/933,842, filed Sep. 3, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,249,860, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. Optionally, the reflective element may comprise aconventional prismatic or flat reflective element or prism, or maycomprise a prismatic or flat reflective element of the types describedin PCT Application No. PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 19, 2003 and publishedApr. 1, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 2004/026633; U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/709,434, filed May 5, 2004, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,420,756; Ser. No. 10/933,842, filed Sep. 3, 2004, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,249,860; Ser. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,255,451; and/or Ser. No. 10/993,302, filed Nov. 19, 2004, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,338,177, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2004/015424, filedMay 18, 2004 and published Dec. 2, 2004 as International Publication No.WO 2004/103772, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties, without affecting the scope of the present invention.

Optionally, and with reference to FIGS. 21A, 21B and 22, a reflectiveelement 618 may comprise a vehicular electrochromic reflective element(but could comprise a non-electrochromic reflective element withoutaffecting the scope of the present invention) having a front substrate640 (such as a transparent glass substrate or the like), a rearsubstrate 642 (such as a transparent glass substrate or the like) and anelectrochromic medium 643 (such as a solid polymer matrix electrochromicmedium such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,187 or5,910,854, or a liquid electrochromic medium such as the types disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,108, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated by reference herein, or the like) sandwiched therebetweenand sealed via a perimeter seal 644. Front substrate 640 has atransparent conductor coating 646 (such as an indium tin oxide (ITO)coating or layer) disposed at its rear surface 640 a, while rearsubstrate 642 has a transflective mirror reflector or transflectorcoating 648 (such as a non-dichroic transflector, such as an IMI stacksuch as an ITO/Ag/ITO stack of layers or coatings or the like) disposedat its front surface 642 a. The reflective element 618 includes a thirdsurface tab-in portion or coating 650 and a fourth surface wraparoundcoating 652 at an edge region of the rear substrate so as to provideelectrical conductivity or continuity between the fourth or rear surface642 b of the rear substrate 642 and the front or third surface 642 a ofthe rear substrate 642.

As can be seen in FIGS. 21A, 21B and 22, the tab-in coating 650 may beestablished (such as via sputter deposition or other suitable coating orestablishing means) at a perimeter region 643 of the third or frontsurface 642 a of the rear substrate 642 and at least partially aroundand over the perimeter edge dimension 656 of rear substrate 642, whilethe fourth or rear surface wraparound coating 652 may be disposed so asto overlap a portion of the third surface tab-in portion 650 (such as atthe edge dimension 656 of the rear substrate) and may wrap around atleast partially onto the rear or fourth surface 642 b of the rearsubstrate (such as by utilizing aspects of the reflective elementsdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,184,190 and7,004,593, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties). Optionally, the third surface tab-in portion 650 and fourthsurface wraparound portion may be commonly established via a common orsame deposition process or the like. The third surface tab-in portion650 may comprise any suitable conductive materials, such as a metallicor conductive layer or coating, such as a silver or silver alloy (suchas an alloy with greater than about three percent and less than about 25percent minority content), such as a silver-palladium alloy, asilver-platinum alloy, a silver-gold alloy, a silver-rhodium alloy, asilver-ruthenium alloy or the like, or an electrically conducting metaloxide layer, such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent electricallyconductive layer or the like, or a thin conductive ink or frit layer orfilm or tape or the like.

As shown in FIGS. 21A, 21B and 22, the third surface transflectivemirror reflector 648 may be established at the front surface 642 a ofthe rear substrate 642 and with an uncoated or non-conducting pathway orraceway 654 established around the perimeter region 643 of the frontsurface 642 a of the rear substrate 642, such as by masking during thedeposition of the mirror reflector on the front surface or by laserablating or otherwise deleting or removing the mirror reflector from thefront surface of the rear substrate at and around the perimeter regionof the front surface 642 a of the rear substrate 642. The third surfacemirror reflector 648 may comprise any suitable reflective andtransmissive material or materials, such as a silicon coating or a metaloxide/metal/metal oxide stack (with at least one of the metal oxidelayers comprising a conducting or semiconducting layer), such as an IMI(such as ITO/silver/ITO or other suitable alternating layers ofmaterials or the like) stack of layers or coatings such as by utilizingaspects of the reflective elements described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,184,190; 6,690,268; 5,724,187 and/or 5,668,663,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

As can be seen in FIGS. 21B and 22, the third surface mirror reflector648 is disposed on the substrate surface after the tab-in portion hasalready being coated or otherwise dispose on the substrate and so as topartially overlap the tab-in portion 650 (with a portion of the tab-inportion being tucked under and making electrical contact with anoutboard perimeter portion of the third surface mirror reflector), andat a location that is spanned or encompassed by the perimeter seal 644.With reference to FIG. 23, the process 670 of forming and coating therear substrate includes shape cutting or forming the rear substrate at672. The third surface of the cut substrate is then masked and coated at674 to establish the tab-in coating or coatings at the third surface(and optionally at the edge dimension and fourth surface of thesubstrate depending on the particular application). After the tab-incoating is established, the third surface of the cut substrate isremasked and coated at 676 with the third surface reflector ortransflective mirror reflector or transflector coating or coatings. Anoutboard portion of the third surface transflector coating is thusestablished over the previously established tab-in portion, and at aregion that is encompassed by the perimeter seal when the reflectiveelement is assembled together and the front and rear substrates arejoined and sealed together by the perimeter seal.

Optionally, and desirably, the tab-in portion comprises a thin coatingor layer (such as a layer having a thickness of about 20 microns orless, such as less than 10 microns (while remaining sufficientlyelectrically conductive), but could be more depending on the particularapplication) so as to limit any step or change in thickness of thecoatings under the seal (that typically has a thickness in the range offrom about 80 microns to about 150 microns or thereabouts) so as tolimit any effect the presence of the thickness of the tab-in coatingsmay have on the sealing function of the perimeter seal at that locationand/or any impact it might have on the uniformity of the inter-panespacing between the front and rear substrates (although other means forproviding a substantially uniform thickness of the various layers at theperimeter seal may be implemented to reduce non-uniformity at theinterface between the perimeter seal and the third surface coatings orlayers, such as by having the tab-in coating or stack of coatingcircumscribe the perimeter of the cut shape that constitutes the rearsubstrate).

Thus, the overlap region of the reflector 648 and tab-in coating 650 isentirely within, is under and is encompassed/protected by the perimeterseal 644 at that location at the perimeter region of the rear substrate(with the outer edge/periphery of the potentially environmentallyvulnerable third surface reflector being inboard of an outer region/wallof the perimeter seal 644 and with the inner edge/periphery of the moreenvironmentally robust tab-in coating or coatings (such as chromium orruthenium or the like) preferably being outboard of an inner region ofthe perimeter seal 644 so as not to be visible to a viewer viewing theelectrochromic-active region bounded by the perimetal seal). Thus,environmental concerns or environmental vulnerability of thetransflective mirror reflector coating 648 are reduced by sealing theenvironmentally vulnerable third surface reflector coatings entirelywithin and under the bounds of the perimeter seal and providingelectrical continuity/connection to the mirror reflector coating via anenvironmentally robust, electrically conducting tab-in coating, and withthe electrical joint/overlap made and terminating under the seal.Optionally, an additional encapsulant or protectant 658 (such as asilicone sealant or an epoxy sealant or another suitable sealant) may beestablished at the tab-in portion and fourth surface wraparound portionto environmentally seal and protect the metallic or conductive tab-inand wraparound portions outside of the perimeter seal of the reflectiveelement. This may conveniently be applied after the electrochromicmirror cell has been fabricated. Such additional sealing can augment theinherent environmental robustness of the tab-in coating or layers used,and such additional or secondary encapsulation well suits exteriormirror construction of the flush and/or frameless types, such as thetypes that are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501; 7,255,451 and7,184,190, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

The third surface tab-in portion thus extends from the overlap region(where the third surface reflector overlaps or overlays an inboardportion of the tab-in portion) or perimeter seal region and out to theperimeter edge of the cut shape of the rear substrate. In theillustrated embodiment, the tab-in portion extends over or wraps arounda portion of the edge of the substrate (between the front and rearsurfaces of the rear substrate), and a fourth surface wraparound portioncovers a portion of the fourth surface and overlays or underlays aportion of the wraparound tab-in portion at the substrate edge. Becausethe reflective element does not necessarily require a wraparound coatingat the edge dimension of the substrate, the tab-in portion mayoptionally be coated only on the perimeter region of the third or frontsurface of the rear substrate without any significant wraparound orcoating on the edge dimension of the rear substrate. Optionally, thetab-in portion may wraparound a portion of the edge of the substrate ormay be coated substantially across the edge dimension of the substrate,yet the reflective element may not include a fourth surface wraparoundportion, whereby the tab-in portion may extend to the edge of the rearsubstrate and may extend or encompass a portion of the edge dimension ofthe substrate, such that electrical connection to the tab-in portion maybe made at the perimeter region of the third surface of the rearsubstrate or at the edge or edge dimension of the rear substrate, whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.Optionally, if a fourth surface wraparound coating is desired, thefourth surface wraparound coating may be established before or after orat the same time as the tab-in portion, such as via simultaneouslysputter coating the tab-in coating and the fourth surface wraparoundcoating at the opposite sides and perimeter edge of the substrate via atwo-sided sputter coating process, such as a sputter coating processthat sputter coats the top and bottom surfaces of a substrate shape heldin a fixture of a sputter coating chamber (with the coatings comprisingthe same coating composition or different coating composition asdesired).

The fourth surface wraparound electrically conductive coating (or stackof coatings) thus may be deposited or disposed or coated onto thecut-edge dimension of the substrate, which has already been first coatedwith a portion of the tab-in coating (or stack of coatings) that wrapsaround or partially wraps around the edge dimension of the substrate sothat the fourth surface wraparound electrically conductive coating (orstack of coatings) overlays, and thus protects, the underlying tab-inportion. Optionally, the fourth surface wraparound coating may comprisean environmentally robust composition or material, such as metallicchromium or ruthenium or the like, and thus may provide at least someenhanced environmental protection to the undercoated tab-in portion atthe edge dimension of the substrate shape. Optionally, the sputterchamber in which the substrate shape is placed for coating of the fourthsurface wraparound portion may utilize baffles or scattering techniquesor other means for sputter coating the more environmentally robustcoating(s) of the fourth surface wraparound portion over the tab-inportion at the edge dimension of the substrate shape and/or over thetab-in portion at the third surface of the substrate. Thus, thesputter-coated environmentally-protective coating(s) may sufficientlycover the tab-in portion so as to envelop and further environmentallyprotect the tab-in portion of the rear substrate. Also, and forconstructions such as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,255,451 and7,184,190, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15,2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 as International Publication No. WO2006/124682, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, where a third surface metallic reflector is principallyprotected by the seal of the electrochromic laminate assembly but with atab-out portion that extends out beyond the seal to a cut edge (andpreferably wraps-around the cut edge dimension) so as to facilitateelectrical connection to the metallic reflector, the fourth surfacecoating or stack of coatings may be extended (such as by appropriate useof baffles or scattering means during sputter deposition in a vacuumchamber) from the fourth surface, along the cut edge dimension, andalong the perimeter edge portion of the third surface where the tab-outof the third surface reflector has already been established so that thefourth surface coating (or stack of coatings) can overlay and thus helpenvironmentally-protect the tab-out portion of the third surfacereflector, not just along the cut edge dimension but also along the partof the tab-out portion that extends beyond the seal at the edgeperimeter of the seal on the third surface of the rear substrate of theelectrochromic mirror element.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include one or more displays, suchas the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240 and/or 6,329,925,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties,and/or display-on-demand or transflective type displays, such as thetypes disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,690,268; 5,668,663 and/or 5,724,187,and/or in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/054,633, filed Jan. 22,2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,381; Ser. No. 10/528,269, filed Mar. 17,2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,274,501; Ser. No. 10/533,762, filed May 4,2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,190; Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13,2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0050018;Ser. No. 11/284,543, filed Nov. 22, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,370,983;and/or Ser. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,255,451; and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 9, 2003and published Apr. 1, 2004 as International Publication No. WO2004/026633; and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US03/35381, filed Nov. 5,2003 and published May 21, 2004 as International Publication No. WO2004/042457; and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/630,061,filed Nov. 22, 2004; Ser. No. 60/667,048, filed Mar. 31, 2005; Ser. No.60/629,926, filed Nov. 22, 2004; Ser. No. 60/531,838, filed Dec. 23,2003; Ser. No. 60/553,842, filed Mar. 17, 2004; and Ser. No. 60/563,342,filed Apr. 19, 2004, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US03/40611, filedDec. 19, 2003 and published Jul. 15, 2004 as International PublicationNo. WO 2004/058540, which are all hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, or may include or incorporate videodisplays or the like, such as the types described in PCT Application No.PCT/US03/40611, filed Dec. 19, 2003 and published Jul. 15, 2004 asInternational Publication No. WO 2004/058540, and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar.9, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0050018; and/or Ser. No.11/284,543, filed Nov. 22, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,370,983; and/orU.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/630,061, filed Nov. 22, 2004;and Ser. No. 60/667,048, filed Mar. 31, 2005, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Telecommunications and wireless communication/data transfer between,from and within a vehicle equipped with the present invention may be bymeans of airwaves designated for other technologies in the standardknown as IMT-2000, and can be over networks based on WiMAX.WiMAX—Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access—is capable ofdelivering wireless broadband connections at speeds of 70 megabits persecond or more across an area of up to 40 miles. It is properly referredto as 802.16e-2005. WiMAX provides wireless data over long distances ina variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellulartype access, and is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard (which is alsocalled WirelessMAN). The 802.16 specification applies across a wideswath of the RF spectrum, and WiMAX can function on any frequency below10 GHz (although higher frequencies can decrease the range to a fewhundred meters in an urban environment). Although there is no uniformglobal licensed spectrum for WiMAX, WiMAX has three licensed spectrumprofiles: 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 24, a reflective element assembly712, such as for an interior rearview mirror assembly, may include avideo display element 714 at a rear portion of the reflective element718 for viewing video display information through the reflective elementwhen the video display element 714 is activated. In the illustratedembodiment, reflective element 718 comprises an electro-optic reflectiveelement having a front substrate 740 (such as a transparent glasssubstrate or the like), a rear substrate 742 (such as a transparentglass substrate or the like) and an electro-optic medium 743 (such as asolid type, such as a solid polymer matrix electrochromic medium or thelike, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,004,592;5,724,187; 5,668,663 and 5,910,854, and commonly owned and co-assignedand co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/653,254, filed Jan.16, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,349,144; Ser. No. 11/244,182, filed Oct.6, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,543,947; and Ser. No. 11/655,096, filedJan. 19, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,572,017, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, or such as aliquid type, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,902,108;5,128,799 and 5,818,625, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties) sandwiched therebetween and sealed via aperimeter seal 744. Front substrate 740 has a transparent conductorcoating 746 (such as a ½ wave indium tin oxide (ITO) layer or doped tinoxide layer or doped zinc oxide layer, such as an AZO layer, or thelike) disposed at its rear surface 740 a, while rear substrate 742 has athird surface transparent electrical conductor coating 748 (such as ½wave indium tin oxide (ITO) layer or doped tin oxide layer or doped zincoxide layer, such as an AZO layer, or the like) disposed at its frontsurface 742 a and a fourth surface dichroic transflector coating orlayer or layers 749 disposed at its rear surface 742 b. Optionally, theconductive coatings or layers may be disposed or deposited at thesurface of the glass substrate or substrates via any suitable means,such as via a sputter deposition process or via a pyrolytic depositionprocess, such as by utilizing aspects described in PCT Application No.PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 asInternational Publication No. WO 2006/124682, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The dichroic transflector coating 749 of reflective element 718comprises a stack of dielectric thin film layers, such as by utilizingaspects of optical dichroic mirrors as known in the optical dichroicmirror art. The dichroic reflector provides a reduced absorption levelas compared to a metallic transflective layer, such that the reflectiveelement 718 may provide enhanced transmissivity of light therethroughfor a given level of reflectance of light incident thereon. Preferably,the reflectivity of light off of the dichroic transflector stack isgreater than about 60% R, more preferably greater than about 70% R andmore preferably greater than about 80% R, while the transmission oflight through the dichroic transflector stack may be preferably greaterthan about 20% T, more preferably greater than about 25% T, and morepreferably greater than about 30% T, but preferably less than about 40%T or thereabouts. Preferably, the dichroic transflector stack provides anon-specularly selective (i.e., neutral and substantially untinted and“silvery”) reflection of light incident thereon and is alsosubstantially neutral in transmission across the visible range of theelectromagnetic spectrum (so that the likes of color video imagesgenerated on the video screen disposed to the rear of and emittingthrough the reflective element can be seen substantially true-to-color),such that the dichroic transflector is highly suitable for transmittingcolor video images therethrough. Thus, the dichroic transflectorprovides a wide band pass transmission of light substantially across thevisible band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, these dichroicreflectors have a wide band pass substantially across the visible lightspectrum for transmission, and similarly for reflection.

In the illustrated embodiment, the display element 714 is disposed tothe rear of the dichroic transflector stack 749 for emittingillumination therethrough. A light absorbing element 760 (such as a darkcolored ink or paint or frit or coating or tape or film or layer oradhesive or plastic part or the like) may be disposed at the rear of thedichroic transflector stack 749 (except where the display element 714 isat) to limit light transmission through the reflective element except atthe display element 714. Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 23, a firstsurface anti-reflector 762 may be provided at or established on thefront or first surface 740 b of the front substrate 740 to limitreflectance of light incident on the front substrate. Optionally, theanti-reflection layer (such as an OPTIVIEW™ layer such as commerciallyavailable from Pilkington) may be deposited pyrolytically in a glassmanufacturing plant, such as described above or such as is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,076,674, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. The anti-reflector 762 may limit or reducethe first surface reflectivity to be, for example, preferably less thanabout 2 percent reflective of light incident thereon, preferably lessthan about 1 percent reflective of light incident thereon, and morepreferably less than about 0.5 percent reflective of light incidentthereon.

The display element 714 may comprise any suitable display element, suchas a color video screen, such as a back-lit liquid crystal display videoscreen, such as a back-lit thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) video screen, such as a back-lit TFT LCD video screen thatis back lit by a plurality of white light emitting light emitting diodes(such as an array of at least four white light emitting light emittingdiodes or the like), such as light emitting diodes that utilize aspectsof the light emitting diodes described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,690,268;7,167,796 and 7,195,381, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Preferably, display element 714 comprises a video screen construction ofthe type disclosed in PCT Application No. PCT/US2006/042718, filed Oct.31, 2006 and published May 10, 2007 as International Publication No. WO2007/053710, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety, that utilizes visible light transmitting brightness enhancingfilms such as VIKUITI™ Dual Brightness Enhancement Films (DBEF) that arecommercially available from 3M® Corporation of Minneapolis, Minn. andthat are typically a light transmitting plastic optical film consistingof over 800 polymer layers. VIKUITI™ Dual Brightness Enhancement (DBEF)film is a reflective polarizer made using multi-layer optical polymerfilm technology that manages light by preferentially transmitting onepolarization state (P1) while reflecting the opposite polarization state(P2) back into the display. When a DBEF film is placed to the rear ofthe LCD panel of the video screen used with a video mirror of thepresent invention, so as to be between the LCD panel and theback-lighting light sources, and with the axis of polarization of theDBEF aligned with the axis of polarization (P1) of the polarizer at therear of the rear glass substrate of the LCD panel, then light in the P2polarization state emitted by the back-lighting light sources that wouldnormally be absorbed by/not passed by the rear polarizer of the liquidcrystal panel is recycled by reflection off the DBEF film back towardsthe back-lighting array to be in turn reflected off the likes of amirror-like reflector of the back-lighting array with a concomitantchange/scramble in handedness of polarization state back at leastpartially to a P1 polarization state, thus increasing the overall amountof light ultimately exiting the LCD display panel to pass through thereflective element for viewing by the driver of the vehicle equippedwith the video mirror. Use can also be made of a VIKUITI™ BEF 111-1 OTfilm that provides about a 37 percent increase in on-axis brightness fordirect-light systems, or the like. VIKUITI™ Brightness Enhancement Film(BEF) uses a microreplication process to create a prism structure thatmanages the angle of light ultimately exiting a display. Using the likesof total internal reflection and reflection/refraction at the microprisms forming a random prism pattern, off-axis light rays incident atthe rear of the BEF prism film can be made to exit more perpendicular tothe plane of the BEF film and so on-axis display brightness is enhanced.When combined with VIKUITI™ DBEF-D400 (or D550) film or similar film orelement, on-axis brightness can be increased by up to 68 percent orthereabouts.

Additionally, combining VIKUITI™ BEF ITT-I OT film with VIKUITI™ DBEFfilm may beneficially improve contrast when viewing an image displayedat the video mirror. For example, a video mirror can be constructedutilizing a video screen that comprises a thin film transistor liquidcrystal display (LCD) panel that is back lit by an array of a pluralityof white light emitting light emitting diodes (preferably more than fourwhite LEDs) and including a VIKUITI™ DBEF reflecting polarizer and aVIKUITI™ BEF prism film, preferably disposed between the rear of the LCDpanel and the back-lighting array of LEDs (and with the DBEF film closerto the LCD panel and the BEF film closer to the back-lighting so thatlight emitted by the back-lighting LEDs impinges on the BEF film(typically having passed through a light diffuser film, although adiffusing property may be included in the DBEF film such as VIKUITI™Diffuse Reflective Polarizer Film DRPF or VIKUITI™ DBEF-D280) beforepassing through the DBEF film and then, in turn, passes through the LCDpanel and then through the reflective element itself. Also, two BEFsheets crossed at 90 degrees can optionally be used to increase displaybrightness. Also, VIKUITI™ Brightness Enhancement Film-ReflectivePolarizer (BEF-RP) that combines light recycling andreflection/refraction in a single multi-layer polymeric film/sheet thatincludes micro-prism structures and polarized light management may beused in the video screen device construction of a video mirror of thepresent invention. Also, VIKUITI™ BEF-RP or VIKUITI™ BEFRP2-RCmulti-functional film that combines polarizing recycling and light anglemanagement may be used in the video screen device construction of avideo mirror of the present invention. Also, VIKUITI™ DBEF MF1-650(having a film/sheet thickness of 650 microns) or multi-functional filmVIKUITI™ DBEF MF1-470 (having a film/sheet thickness of 470 microns)that combines polarizing recycling and light angle management may beused in the video screen device construction of a video mirror of thepresent invention.

When viewed via the front substrate and when operated during normaldriving conditions and under high ambient lighting (such as daylightdriving conditions), the luminance of the images seen at the videodisplay screen as viewed through the front substrate and through theelectro-optic medium and through the rear substrate is preferably atleast about 900 candelas/square meter, more preferably at least about1,200 candelas/square meter, and more preferably at least about 1,500candelas/square meter, when the electro-optic medium is in its undimmedstate and with the back lighting light sources of the video screen beingpowered to their maximum normally-allowed power level for use in theinterior rearview mirror assembly in the vehicle.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 25, the dichroic transflectorlayers 749′ of a reflective element 718′ may be disposed at the frontsurface or third surface 742 a′ of the rear substrate 742′ and betweenthe third surface 742 a′ and the transparent electrical conductor 748′.Similar to reflective element 718, a video display element 714′ isdisposed at a rear portion of the reflective element 718′ for viewingvideo display information through the reflective element when the videodisplay element 714′ is activated. Reflective element 718′ comprises anelectro-optic reflective element having a front substrate 740′, rearsubstrate 742′ and an electro-optic medium 743′ sandwiched therebetweenand sealed via a perimeter seal 744′. Front substrate 740′ has atransparent conductor coating 746′ disposed at its rear surface 740 a′and an anti-reflective coating or layer 762′ disposed at its frontsurface 740 b′, while rear substrate 742′ has a light absorbing element760′ disposed at its rear surface 742 b′.

The transparent electrical conductor layer 748′ is thus disposed overthe third surface dichroic transflector layers 749′ and is between theelectro-optic medium 743′ and the dichroic transflector layers 749′. Thetransparent electrical conductor is thus in contact with theelectro-optic medium and preferably has a resistivity of about 5-15 ohmsper square for powering the electro-optic medium when a current isapplied to the transparent electrical conductor. The third surfacedichroic transflector reflective element 718′ may be substantiallysimilar to the fourth surface dichroic transflector reflective element718, discussed above (although the stack design may be adjusted so as toaccommodate use of the likes of a half-wave ITO transparent thin film asthe outermost layer in electrical contact with the electro-opticallyactive inter-pane medium), such that a detailed discussion of thereflective elements need not be repeated herein. The difference inappearance (as viewed by a person viewing the reflective elements whenthe respective mirror assemblies are normally mounted in a vehicle)between a third surface dichroic transflector reflective element and afourth surface dichroic transflector reflective element is not readilydiscernible to a person viewing the reflective elements of the interiorrearview mirror assemblies due to the size of the mirrors and mirrorsubstrates.

The third and fourth surface dichroic transflector reflective elementsof the present invention thus provide dichroic transflectors that havereduced absorption as compared to non-dichroic metallic transflectors(such as metal oxide/metal/metal oxide stacks of layers), so that thedichroic transflector reflective element exhibits enhancedtransmissivity of light therethrough for a given level of reflectivityof light incident thereon. This is because the dichroic transflectorlayers used in the dichroic transflectors, being all non-metallic (suchas transparent metal oxides or transparent metal halides or transparentmetal nitrides or other transparent non-metallic metal compounds), havea significantly lower extinction coefficient (smaller “k” value in theoptical constants) than a metal layer (such as a thin silver thin filmcoating or a thin silver alloy thin film coating or a thin aluminum thinfilm coating or a thin aluminum alloy thin film coating) used in anon-dichroic metallic transflector. The extinction coefficient for thelayers or coatings is a measure of how well the layers or coatingsabsorb electromagnetic radiation. If electromagnetic waves can passthrough with reduced absorption, the material has a lower extinctioncoefficient.

The constructions of the present invention are economical and effectivecompared to the more complicated and potentially more costlyconstructions of other mirror assemblies. For example, no collimatingoptical element (or any equivalent thereof) need be positioned at thelight assembly of the embodiments of the present invention, since theslanted baffle in tandem with the slanted orientation of the lightassembly to the rear of the back plate obviates the need for acollimating optical element. The present invention also obviates thecost and complexity of use of an optics block with collimating anddeviator portions to control direction of light rays, or any equivalentthereof, such as is disclosed in PCT Application No. PCT/US00/07437,filed Mar. 7, 2005 by Gentex Corporation, and published Sep. 22, 2005 asInternational Publication No. WO 2005/086777, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Changes and modifications to the specifically described embodiments maybe carried out without departing from the principles of the presentinvention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patentlaw.

1. An exterior rearview mirror system for a vehicle, said exteriorrearview mirror system comprising: an exterior rearview mirror assemblyconfigured for mounting at an exterior side of a vehicle; said exteriorrearview mirror assembly having (i) a skull-cap mirror shell and (ii) areflective element adjustably supported within said exterior rearviewmirror assembly; wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assemblymounted at an exterior side of a vehicle equipped with said exteriorrearview mirror system, said skull-cap mirror shell has an inboard wallthat faces generally toward the exterior side of the equipped vehicle; ablind spot indicator disposed at an aperture established at said inboardwall of said skull-cap mirror shell of said exterior rearview mirrorassembly, wherein said blind spot indicator comprises an illuminationsource comprising at least one light emitting diode; wherein, with saidexterior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the exterior side of theequipped vehicle, said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell isviewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle and said inboard wall ofsaid skull-cap mirror shell is substantially non-viewable by drivers ofother vehicles when the other vehicles are overtaking the equippedvehicle from rearward of the equipped vehicle at a side lane adjacent tothe exterior side of the equipped vehicle at which said exteriorrearview mirror assembly is mounted; wherein, with said exteriorrearview mirror assembly mounted at the exterior side of the equippedvehicle, said illumination source is activated to illuminate said blindspot indicator responsive to an electronic blind spot monitoring systemof the equipped vehicle detecting another vehicle that is at least oneselected from the group consisting of (i) approaching the equippedvehicle from rearward of the equipped vehicle and (ii) overtaking theequipped vehicle from rearward of the equipped vehicle at a side laneadjacent to the exterior side of the equipped vehicle at which saidexterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted; wherein said blind spotindicator disposed at the aperture established at said inboard wall ofsaid skull-cap mirror shell of said exterior rearview mirror assemblyprovides a viewing area of at least two square centimeters viewable bythe driver of the equipped vehicle when said exterior rearview mirrorassembly is mounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle;wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mounted at theexterior side of the equipped vehicle, illumination of said blind spotindicator by activation of said illumination source is readily viewableby the driver of the equipped vehicle; and wherein, with said exteriorrearview mirror assembly mounted at the exterior side of the equippedvehicle, illumination of said blind spot indicator by activation of saidillumination source is generally not viewable by a driver of a leadingvehicle that is traveling in front of the equipped vehicle or by adriver of a vehicle approaching the equipped vehicle from in front ofthe equipped vehicle.
 2. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 1,wherein said blind spot indicator is disposed at a sloping wall portionof said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell.
 3. The exteriorrearview mirror system of claim 1, wherein said blind spot indicator isaerodynamically disposed at a sloping wall portion of said inboard wallof said skull-cap mirror shell.
 4. The exterior rearview mirror systemof claim 1, wherein said blind spot indicator disposed at the apertureestablished at said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell of saidexterior rearview mirror assembly provides a viewing area of at leastfour square centimeters viewable by the driver of equipped vehicle whensaid exterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted at the exterior sideof the equipped vehicle.
 5. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim4, wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mounted at theexterior side of the equipped vehicle and with the equipped vehicletravelling along a road, said blind spot indicator is substantiallyimpervious to water.
 6. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 4,wherein said blind spot indicator comprises an optic element.
 7. Theexterior rearview mirror system of claim 6, wherein said blind spotindicator comprises an electrical connector.
 8. The exterior rearviewmirror system of claim 1, wherein the exterior side of the equippedvehicle at which said exterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted is ata driver side of the equipped vehicle.
 9. The exterior rearview mirrorsystem of claim 1, wherein the exterior side of the equipped vehicle atwhich said exterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted is at apassenger side of the equipped vehicle.
 10. The exterior rearview mirrorsystem of claim 1, wherein said blind spot indicator comprises a lightdirecting element for directing illumination from said illuminationsource toward the exterior side of the equipped vehicle to enhanceviewing of said blind spot indicator by the driver of the equippedvehicle when said exterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted at theexterior side of the equipped vehicle and when said illumination sourceis illuminated.
 11. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 1,wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mounted at theexterior side of the equipped vehicle, and upon the electronic blindspot monitoring system of the equipped vehicle detecting another vehicleat least one selected from the group consisting of (i) adjacent theequipped vehicle and (ii) rearward of the equipped vehicle, said blindspot indicator indicates a degree of hazard of the detected othervehicle.
 12. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 11, whereinsaid exterior rearview mirror assembly comprises a breakaway exteriormirror assembly.
 13. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 12,wherein said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprises a powerfoldexterior mirror assembly.
 14. The exterior rearview mirror system ofclaim 13, wherein said reflective element comprises an electro-opticreflective element with electrically variable reflectivity.
 15. Theexterior rearview mirror system of claim 1, wherein said blind spotindicator comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of(i) a lens, (ii) a light directing element, (iii) a light guidingelement, (iv) a light channel, (v) a light conduit, (vi) a light baffleand (vii) a light louver.
 16. The exterior rearview mirror system ofclaim 1, wherein said blind spot indicator is aerodynamically disposedat said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell.
 17. The exteriorrearview mirror system of claim 16, wherein, with said exterior rearviewmirror assembly mounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle,and when said illumination source is illuminated, the driver of theequipped vehicle who is viewing said blind spot indicator sees a hazardalert.
 18. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 1, wherein saidblind spot indicator is disposed at said skull-cap mirror shell at alocation that is inboard relative to the position of said reflectiveelement with respect to the exterior side of the equipped vehicle. 19.The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 1, wherein said blind spotindicator comprises an electrical connector, and wherein electricalconnection is made with said blind spot indicator via a plug and sockettype arrangement.
 20. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 19,wherein said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprises a breakawayexterior mirror assembly, and wherein said exterior rearview mirrorassembly comprises a powerfold exterior mirror assembly.
 21. Theexterior rearview mirror system of claim 20, wherein said reflectiveelement comprises an electro-optic reflective element with electricallyvariable reflectivity.
 22. An exterior rearview mirror system for avehicle, said exterior rearview mirror system comprising: an exteriorrearview mirror assembly configured for mounting at an exterior side ofa vehicle; said exterior rearview mirror assembly having (i) a skull-capmirror shell and (ii) a reflective element adjustably supported withinsaid exterior rearview mirror assembly; wherein, with said exteriorrearview mirror assembly mounted at an exterior side of a vehicleequipped with said exterior rearview mirror system, said skull-capmirror shell has an inboard wall that faces generally toward theexterior side of the equipped vehicle; a blind spot indicator disposedat an aperture established at said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirrorshell of said exterior rearview mirror assembly, wherein said blind spotindicator comprises an illumination source comprising at least one lightemitting diode; wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assemblymounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle, said inboard wallof said skull-cap mirror shell is viewable by a driver of the equippedvehicle and said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell issubstantially non-viewable by drivers of other vehicles when the othervehicles are overtaking the equipped vehicle from rearward of theequipped vehicle at a side lane adjacent to the exterior side of theequipped vehicle at which said exterior rearview mirror assembly ismounted; wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mounted atthe exterior side of the equipped vehicle, said illumination source isactivated to illuminate said blind spot indicator responsive to anelectronic blind spot monitoring system of the equipped vehicledetecting another vehicle that is at least one selected from the groupconsisting of (i) approaching the equipped vehicle from rearward of theequipped vehicle and (ii) overtaking the equipped vehicle from rearwardof the equipped vehicle at a side lane adjacent to the exterior side ofthe equipped vehicle at which said exterior rearview mirror assembly ismounted; wherein said blind spot indicator disposed at the apertureestablished at said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell of saidexterior rearview mirror assembly provides a viewing area of at leastfour square centimeters viewable by the driver of the equipped vehiclewhen said exterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted at the exteriorside of the equipped vehicle; wherein said exterior rearview mirrorassembly comprises at least two selected from the group consisting of(i) a breakaway exterior mirror assembly, (ii) a powerfold exteriormirror assembly and (iii) an electro-optic reflective element withelectrically variable reflectivity; wherein, with said exterior rearviewmirror assembly mounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle,illumination of said blind spot indicator by activation of saidillumination source is readily viewable by the driver of the equippedvehicle; and wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assemblymounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle, illumination ofsaid blind spot indicator by activation of said illumination source isgenerally not viewable by a driver of a leading vehicle that istraveling in front of the equipped vehicle or by a driver of a vehicleapproaching the equipped vehicle from in front of the equipped vehicle.23. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 22, wherein said blindspot indicator is aerodynamically disposed at said inboard wall of saidskull-cap mirror shell.
 24. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim23, wherein said blind spot indicator is disposed at a sloping wallportion of said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell.
 25. Theexterior rearview mirror system of claim 24, wherein electricalconnection is made with said blind spot indicator via a plug and sockettype arrangement.
 26. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 22,wherein said blind spot indicator comprises at least one selected fromthe group consisting of (i) a lens, (ii) a light directing element,(iii) a light guiding element, (iv) a light channel, (v) a lightconduit, (vi) a light baffle and (vii) a light louver.
 27. The exteriorrearview mirror system of claim 22, wherein, with said exterior rearviewmirror assembly mounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle andwith the equipped vehicle travelling along a road, said blind spotindicator is substantially impervious to water.
 28. The exteriorrearview mirror system of claim 22, wherein said blind spot indicatorcomprises an optic element.
 29. The exterior rearview mirror system ofclaim 22, wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mountedat the exterior side of the equipped vehicle, and upon the electronicblind spot monitoring system of the equipped vehicle detecting anothervehicle at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) adjacentthe equipped vehicle and (ii) rearward of the equipped vehicle, saidblind spot indicator indicates a degree of hazard of the detected othervehicle.
 30. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 29, whereinsaid blind spot indicator comprises a light directing element fordirecting illumination from said illumination source toward the exteriorside of the equipped vehicle to enhance viewing of said blind spotindicator by the driver of the equipped vehicle when said exteriorrearview mirror assembly is mounted at the exterior side of the equippedvehicle and when said illumination source is illuminated.
 31. Theexterior rearview mirror system of claim 22, wherein said exteriorrearview mirror assembly comprises (i) a breakaway exterior mirrorassembly, (ii) a powerfold exterior mirror assembly and (iii) anelectro-optic reflective element with electrically variablereflectivity.
 32. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 31,wherein electrical connection is made with said blind spot indicator viaa plug and socket type arrangement.
 33. The exterior rearview mirrorsystem of claim 22, wherein the exterior side of the equipped vehicle atwhich said exterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted is at a driverside of the equipped vehicle, and wherein said blind spot indicator isdisposed at said skull-cap mirror shell at a location that is inboardrelative to the position of said reflective element with respect to theexterior side of the equipped vehicle.
 34. An exterior rearview mirrorsystem for a vehicle, said exterior rearview mirror system comprising:an exterior rearview mirror assembly configured for mounting at anexterior side of a vehicle; said exterior rearview mirror assemblyhaving (i) a skull-cap mirror shell and (ii) a reflective elementadjustably supported within said exterior rearview mirror assembly;wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mounted at anexterior side of a vehicle equipped with said exterior rearview mirrorsystem, said skull-cap mirror shell has an inboard wall that facesgenerally toward the exterior side of the equipped vehicle; a blind spotindicator disposed at an aperture established at said inboard wall ofsaid skull-cap mirror shell of said exterior rearview mirror assembly,wherein said blind spot indicator comprises an illumination sourcecomprising at least one light emitting diode; wherein, with saidexterior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the exterior side of theequipped vehicle, said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell isviewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle and said inboard wall ofsaid skull-cap mirror shell is substantially non-viewable by drivers ofother vehicles when the other vehicles are overtaking the equippedvehicle from rearward of the equipped vehicle at a side lane adjacent tothe exterior side of the equipped vehicle at which said exteriorrearview mirror assembly is mounted; wherein, with said exteriorrearview mirror assembly mounted at the exterior side of the equippedvehicle, said illumination source is activated to illuminate said blindspot indicator responsive to an electronic blind spot monitoring systemof the equipped vehicle detecting another vehicle that is at least oneselected from the group consisting of (i) approaching the equippedvehicle from rearward of the equipped vehicle and (ii) overtaking theequipped vehicle from rearward of the equipped vehicle at a side laneadjacent to the exterior side of the equipped vehicle at which saidexterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted; wherein said blind spotindicator disposed at the aperture established at said inboard wall ofsaid skull-cap mirror shell of said exterior rearview mirror assemblyprovides a viewing area of at least four square centimeters viewable bythe driver of the equipped vehicle when said exterior rearview mirrorassembly is mounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle;wherein said blind spot indicator comprises an electrical connector, andwherein electrical connection is made with said blind spot indicator viaa plug and socket type arrangement; wherein, with said exterior rearviewmirror assembly mounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle,illumination of said blind spot indicator by activation of saidillumination source is readily viewable by the driver of the equippedvehicle; and wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assemblymounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle, illumination ofsaid blind spot indicator by activation of said illumination source isgenerally not viewable by a driver of a leading vehicle that istraveling in front of the equipped vehicle or by a driver of a vehicleapproaching the equipped vehicle from in front of the equipped vehicle.35. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 34, wherein said blindspot indicator is aerodynamically disposed at said inboard wall of saidskull-cap mirror shell.
 36. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim35, wherein said blind spot indicator is disposed at a sloping wallportion of said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell.
 37. Theexterior rearview mirror system of claim 36, wherein the exterior sideof the equipped vehicle at which said exterior rearview mirror assemblyis mounted is at a driver side of the equipped vehicle, and wherein saidblind spot indicator is disposed at said skull-cap mirror shell at alocation that is inboard relative to the position of said reflectiveelement with respect to the exterior side of the equipped vehicle. 38.The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 34, wherein said blind spotindicator comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of(i) a lens, (ii) a light directing element, (iii) a light guidingelement, (iv) a light channel, (v) a light conduit, (vi) a light baffleand (vii) a light louver.
 39. The exterior rearview mirror system ofclaim 34, wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mountedat the exterior side of the equipped vehicle and with the equippedvehicle travelling along a road, said blind spot indicator issubstantially impervious to water.
 40. The exterior rearview mirrorsystem of claim 34, wherein said blind spot indicator comprises an opticelement.
 41. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 34, wherein,with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the exterior sideof the equipped vehicle, and upon the electronic blind spot monitoringsystem of the equipped vehicle detecting another vehicle at least oneselected from the group consisting of (i) adjacent the equipped vehicleand (ii) rearward of the equipped vehicle, said blind spot indicatorindicates a degree of hazard of the detected other vehicle.
 42. Theexterior rearview mirror system of claim 41, wherein said exteriorrearview mirror assembly comprises at least two selected from the groupconsisting of (i) a breakaway exterior mirror assembly, (ii) a powerfoldexterior mirror assembly and (iii) an electro-optic reflective elementwith electrically variable reflectivity.
 43. The exterior rearviewmirror system of claim 34, wherein said blind spot indicator comprises alight directing element for directing illumination from saidillumination source toward the exterior side of the equipped vehicle toenhance viewing of said blind spot indicator by the driver of theequipped vehicle when said exterior rearview mirror assembly is mountedat the exterior side of the equipped vehicle and when said illuminationsource is illuminated.
 44. An exterior rearview mirror system for avehicle, said exterior rearview mirror system comprising: an exteriorrearview mirror assembly configured for mounting at an exterior side ofa vehicle; said exterior rearview mirror assembly having (i) a skull-capmirror shell and (ii) a reflective element adjustably supported withinsaid exterior rearview mirror assembly; wherein, with said exteriorrearview mirror assembly mounted at an exterior side of a vehicleequipped with said exterior rearview mirror system, said skull-capmirror shell has an inboard wall that faces generally toward theexterior side of the equipped vehicle; a blind spot indicator disposedat an aperture established at said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirrorshell of said exterior rearview mirror assembly, wherein said blind spotindicator comprises an illumination source comprising at least one lightemitting diode; wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assemblymounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle, said inboard wallof said skull-cap mirror shell is viewable by a driver of the equippedvehicle and said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell issubstantially non-viewable by drivers of other vehicles when the othervehicles are overtaking the equipped vehicle from rearward of theequipped vehicle at a side lane adjacent to the exterior side of theequipped vehicle at which said exterior rearview mirror assembly ismounted; wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mounted atthe exterior side of the equipped vehicle, said illumination source isactivated to illuminate said blind spot indicator responsive to anelectronic blind spot monitoring system of the equipped vehicledetecting another vehicle that is at least one selected from the groupconsisting of (i) approaching the equipped vehicle from rearward of theequipped vehicle and (ii) overtaking the equipped vehicle from rearwardof the equipped vehicle at a side lane adjacent to the exterior side ofthe equipped vehicle at which said exterior rearview mirror assembly ismounted; wherein said blind spot indicator disposed at the apertureestablished at said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell of saidexterior rearview mirror assembly provides a viewing area of at leasttwo square centimeters viewable by the driver of the equipped vehiclewhen said exterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted at the exteriorside of the equipped vehicle; wherein said exterior rearview mirrorassembly comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of(i) a breakaway exterior mirror assembly and (ii) a powerfold exteriormirror assembly; wherein said blind spot indicator comprises anelectrical connector, and wherein electrical connection is made withsaid blind spot indicator via a plug and socket type arrangement;wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mounted at theexterior side of the equipped vehicle, illumination of said blind spotindicator by activation of said illumination source is readily viewableby the driver of the equipped vehicle; and wherein, with said exteriorrearview mirror assembly mounted at the exterior side of the equippedvehicle, illumination of said blind spot indicator by activation of saidillumination source is generally not viewable by a driver of a leadingvehicle that is traveling in front of the equipped vehicle or by adriver of a vehicle approaching the equipped vehicle from in front ofthe equipped vehicle.
 45. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim44, wherein said blind spot indicator comprises an optic element. 46.The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 45, wherein said blind spotindicator is aerodynamically disposed at said inboard wall of saidskull-cap mirror shell.
 47. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim45, wherein said blind spot indicator is disposed at a sloping wallportion of said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell.
 48. Theexterior rearview mirror system of claim 45, wherein the exterior sideof the equipped vehicle at which said exterior rearview mirror assemblyis mounted is at a driver side of the equipped vehicle, and wherein saidblind spot indicator is disposed at said skull-cap mirror shell at alocation that is inboard relative to the position of said reflectiveelement with respect to the exterior side of the equipped vehicle. 49.The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 44, wherein said blind spotindicator comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of(i) a lens, (ii) a light directing element, (iii) a light guidingelement, (iv) a light channel, (v) a light conduit, (vi) a light baffleand (vii) a light louver.
 50. The exterior rearview mirror system ofclaim 49, wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assembly mountedat the exterior side of the equipped vehicle and with the equippedvehicle travelling along a road, said blind spot indicator issubstantially impervious to water.
 51. The exterior rearview mirrorsystem of claim 44, wherein, with said exterior rearview mirror assemblymounted at the exterior side of the equipped vehicle, and upon theelectronic blind spot monitoring system of the equipped vehicledetecting another vehicle at least one selected from the groupconsisting of (i) adjacent the equipped vehicle and (ii) rearward of theequipped vehicle, said blind spot indicator indicates a degree of hazardof the detected other vehicle.
 52. The exterior rearview mirror systemof claim 51, wherein said blind spot indicator disposed at the apertureestablished at said inboard wall of said skull-cap mirror shell of saidexterior rearview mirror assembly provides a viewing area of at leastfour square centimeters viewable by the driver of the equipped vehiclewhen said exterior rearview mirror assembly is mounted at the exteriorside of the equipped vehicle.
 53. The exterior rearview mirror system ofclaim 52, wherein said exterior rearview mirror assembly comprises abreakaway exterior mirror assembly and a powerfold exterior mirrorassembly.
 54. The exterior rearview mirror system of claim 44, whereinsaid blind spot indicator comprises a light directing element fordirecting illumination from said illumination source toward the exteriorside of the equipped vehicle to enhance viewing of said blind spotindicator by the driver of the equipped vehicle when said exteriorrearview mirror assembly is mounted at the exterior side of the equippedvehicle and when said illumination source is illuminated.